Dr. Lauren Boden

Dr. Lauren Boden, M.D. is a fellowship-trained orthopedic spine surgeon based in Louisville, Kentucky. She specializes in minimally invasive and complex spine surgery of the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine, including both primary and revision procedures. She treats conditions ranging from acute trauma at the level one trauma center to lower energy injuries and degenerative conditions such as herniated discs, cervical myelopathy, and lumbar stenosis. She is a resident mentor, serves as the Department of Orthopedic Surgery representative on the Faculty Forum, and is an Assistant Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at the University of Louisville.

Training & Education

Dr. Boden grew up in Atlanta, Georgia with her family including her triplet sisters, younger sister and younger brother. She was the valedictorian of her high school graduating class and won numerous national athletic, academic, and service based awards including the Girl Scout Gold Award, the Scholar Athlete Milk Mustache of the Year (SAMMY) Award, and the Coca-Cola Award for Outstanding Accomplishment in Academic and Athletic Performance. She became the first girl to play on her high school baseball team and set the Guinness World Record for the fastest baseball pitch by a female. She then played varsity softball and golf at Pomona College, where she graduated with honors. She earned her medical degree at the Emory University School of Medicine and went on to complete her Orthopaedic Surgery residency at the University of Pennsylvania, where she had the honor of being selected for the inaugural Penn Wharton Leadership Academy Fellowship. After residency, she completed her spine surgery fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic, where she worked with world-renowned spine surgeons. She received training in both orthopedic and neurosurgical spine surgery techniques, which she continues to combine in her practice.

Approach to Care

As a highly trained specialist in spine surgery, Dr. Boden’s philosophy is to put her patients first and treat them like family. Her goals are to provide the highest level of quality care by listening to her patients, understanding their needs and goals, and making sure they have a complete understanding of their treatment options. She takes the time to get to know her patients to better understand the impact their pain has on quality of life and functional status. She ensures her patients have exhausted all practical conservative treatment options prior to considering surgery. When surgery is offered it is as a last resort, and Dr. Boden takes the time to review the goals and expectations of surgery as well as the recovery process with her patients. She strives to treat her patients with compassion, respect, and dignity while focusing on their priorities and optimizing their outcomes. She uses innovative technology and minimally invasive techniques when able to minimize patient discomfort, preserve motion, and optimize outcomes. She works with patients individually to create a customized approach to patient care. Dr. Boden works closely with physical therapists, athletic trainers, non operative spine specialists including pain management and PM&R providers, primary care physicians, and other specialists as needed to ensure the best care translates to the best outcomes.

Research

Dr. Boden values evidence-based medicine. In addition to using up-to-date techniques and treatment options for her patients, she enjoys contributing to the literature and impacting a far greater number of patients by conducting clinical and translational research. She has authored dozens of peer reviewed journal publications, abstracts, and book chapters and has presented her research nationally and internationally. Dr. Boden also serves as a reviewer for multiple medical journals including Spine and the Journal for Bone and Joint Surgery (JBJS).

Service to Community and Leadership

Dr. Boden is deeply committed to serving her community through both her clinical practice and various other clinical and non-clinical contributions. In addition to her main practice locations within the Louisville community, she is starting orthopedic spine services at the local Veterans Health Administration (VA) Hospital as well as in Shelbyville, KY to improve local access to spine care. She is a member of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS), Eastern Orthopedic Association (EOA), Ruth Jackson Orthopedic Society (RJOS), J. Robert Gladden Orthopaedic Society (JRGOS), and Lumbar Spine Research Society (LSRS). She is a Faculty Advisor for the UofL Orthopedic Surgery Medical Student Interest Group, is the department representative on the Faculty Forum at the UofL School of Medicine, and serves as a medical student and resident mentor. She is also involved with resident teaching and takes time to teach and lead medical student courses within the Department of Orthopedic Surgery. Outside of medicine, she is an avid baseball fan and serves as a volunteer coach with girls baseball teams. She has coached girls from across the country since 2012 to help grow the game, develop their skills, and promote teamwork, commitment, exercise, and self-esteem.