Recently, Lewis G. Zirkle, MD, was awarded an honorary certificate of completion for Orthopaedic Training from Duke Orthopaedics and was formally recognized as an Honorary Alumnus of the program with the approval of Benjamin Alman, MD, Chair of Orthopaedic Surgery. The certificate was presented by Steven Olson, MD, who served as faculty at the 2024 SIGN Fracture Course, which also celebrated the 25th anniversary of SIGN Fracture Care International (SIGN).
Dr. Zirkle is widely regarded in the orthopaedic community as the founder of SIGN, a non-profit organization established in 1999. SIGN is dedicated to improving fracture care in resource-limited countries by providing orthopaedic implants and education to local surgeons. A core component of Dr. Zirkle’s vision is to offer these implants free of charge to SIGN-trained surgeons and their hospitals in exchange for patient data documenting their treatment outcomes. Over the past 25 years, SIGN implants have treated more than 443,000 patients worldwide.
Dr. Zirkle completed his undergraduate studies at Davidson College and received his medical degree from Duke University. In 1966, he was invited by Lenox Baker, MD, then Chair of Orthopaedic Surgery, to join the Duke Orthopaedic Program. Dr. Baker waived the requirement for a second year of general surgery, allowing Dr. Zirkle to begin his orthopaedic training in 1967. However, after completing his first year, Dr. Zirkle was drafted into the army and deployed to Vietnam as an orthopaedic surgeon in 1968. Following his military service, he completed his orthopaedic training at Letterman Army Hospital in San Francisco, California. Due to the interruption in his training at Duke, Dr. Zirkle did not receive a formal certificate of completion until this honorary recognition in 2024.