An award-winning surgeon,who starts by listening
Professor Paul Lee is an award-winning orthopaedic surgeon. In 2026 his own profession, through the British Orthopaedic Association, gave him a gold medal for his work on Recovery. The part of that story he cares about most is humility.
A medal for how a surgeon thinks, not only what a surgeon does
The British Orthopaedic Association is the professional body for orthopaedic surgeons in the UK and Ireland. Its Robert Jones Medal and Association Prize is a gold medal, one of its flagship honours, and Professor Lee received it in 2026 for his work on Recovery.
His paper, “Recovery in the Age of Intelligence: Why Humility May Be the Surgeon’s Most Powerful Tool,” makes a simple argument. As technology gives surgeons more data than ever, the surgeon’s judgement matters more, not less, and judgement needs humility. In his words: “Humility keeps patients safe. Humility keeps our profession human. Humility turns intelligence into wisdom.”
What that means when you are the patient
Most people who search for an award-winning surgeon want to know one thing: will this person take my situation seriously? Awards cannot answer that on their own. What Professor Lee hopes the medal reflects is a way of working.
It starts with listening. Patients now arrive with more information than they ever have, some of it accurate and some of it not, and he believes the right response is an honest, unhurried conversation rather than a script. Recovery, as he puts it, is emotional and relational as well as physical, and no model can predict it perfectly.
It continues with an open mind about what may still be possible. His practice centres on helping patients explore what may still be preserved, repaired or regenerated before joint replacement becomes the default, and on recommending replacement plainly when it is the right answer. That judgement is individual to each patient: tissue, timing, function and recovery all count.
Professor Lee sees patients with cartilage, meniscus, knee and hip problems at London Cartilage Clinic on Harley Street, where he is the clinical lead of an ICRS Accredited Teaching Centre of Excellence in cartilage and joint preservation surgery.
Other independent honours
The medal is not the only recognition from independent bodies. Professor Lee is a recipient of the NHS Long Service Award for 20 years of service, has won first prizes at the Future Orthopaedic Surgeon Conference and the DPT Medical Innovation Awards, and is the author of an Amazon #1 bestseller, Regeneration by Design.
Each honour is listed with its awarding body and year on the awards and recognition page, and the medal itself is explained on the Robert Jones Medal and BOA Gold Medal pages. His credentials can be checked independently on the credentials and verification page.
Where to go next
Humility keeps patients safe
An award-winning orthopaedic surgeon, ready to listen first.