History of Norton Leartherman Spine Center

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In 1917, a 5-year-old boy took a buggy ride with the town doctor in Jeffersontown, Ky., that would shape the rest of his life and career. The young boy witnessed this doctor nearly single-handedly meet the medical needs of the entire community. Inspired by the doctor's dedication to his community, the boy decided he would become a doctor.

True to his boyhood convictions, Kenton D. Leatherman graduated from the University of Louisville School of Medicine in 1938. Then, at the height of the polio epidemic in the 1940s, the young surgeon watched in dismay as thousands of children with polio suffered collapsing spines, or scoliosis, the most complex side effect to treat. From that point on, Dr. Leatherman dedicated his life to spine surgery.

Dr. Leatherman's insight and understanding of spinal deformities, combined with new techniques in spine surgery, elevated him to become a founding father of modern spine surgery and one of the most respected spine surgeons in the world. The scoliosis clinic developed by Dr. Leatherman is known today as the Norton Leatherman Spine Center. Dr. Leatherman, along with another ambitious Louisville doctor, R. Glen Spurling, M.D., established one of the area's first neurosurgical services specializing in surgery of the brain and spine. Dr. Spurling's expertise became an important part of the Norton Leatherman Spine Center.

Today, under the leadership of John R. Johnson, M.D., and Christopher B. Shields, M.D., the physicians of the Spine Institute and Norton Neuroscience Institute combine their expertise to provide the best possible options for patients. This dedication to innovation has established Norton Leatherman Spine Center as one of the premier destinations in the world for treating conditions of the spine.