The son of a surgeon, he gravitated toward medicine as a profession and received his Medical Doctorate from the Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1979 where he first became interested in the field of orthopedics. As an intern in general surgery at SUNY-Downstate in Brooklyn New York he applied for and was accepted for an orthopedic residency position at Einstein Medical Center. His mentors as a resident, Robert E. Liebenberg, MD, Anthony S. Puglisi, MD and John T. Williams, Sr, MD still work with him today as nonoperative surgeons within the orthopedic department. While a resident, an interest in sports medicine was formed and upon completion of residency training in 1984, he accepted a fellowship position at the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center/Penn State in Hershey Pennsylvania. Dr. Handal’s fellowship Director and mentor, Robert E. Greer, MD noted Dr. Handal’s burgeoning interest in orthopedic trauma and advised him to pursue further subspecialty training at the Maryland Institute of Emergency Medical Services and Systems and Grant Medical Center in Ohio in orthopedic traumatology. He has particular expertise in the correction of pelvic fractures and life-threatening traumatic injuries such as trauma to the spine and long bones.
Over the course of his medical career, Dr. Handal gravitated to the treatment of spine disorders and in 1998 returned to the site of his residency training, Einstein Medical Center, as Chairman, Residency Program Director and Director of the Spine Program in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery. Dr. Handal utilizes advanced surgical techniques such as minimally invasive surgery of the spine and specializes in patients with scoliosis, fractures, failed back surgery, deformity and cervical spine (neck) disorders.
Dr. Handal is a member of the American Orthopedic Association (AOA) and serves on the AOA Leadership Development Committee. He is an active member in various local and national medical, orthopedic and spine societies. He is a frequent invited reviewer for the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery. Until recently, Dr. Handal served as an orthopedic specialist site visitor for the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and is currently an Oral Board examiner for the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery. Having retired his title of Residency Program Director, Dr. Handal is currently Chairman and Director of the Spine Program for the Department of Orthopedic Surgery and a Clinical Associate Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at Jefferson Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University.
Dr. Handal spearheaded the development of the Orthopedic Bioengineering Laboratory, a fully equipped basic science laboratory, located in the Korman Research Pavilion. Since its conception in 2006 and as a direct result of laboratory research the department has been awarded five grants, had multiple publications in peer-reviewed journals and numerous abstracts accepted at local and national meetings.
Dr. Handal’s current research interests include osteonecrosis of the hip, chemotherapeutic bone cements and stem cell therapies for bone fractures and cartilage repair. He studies the effect of statins to prevent osteonecrosis of the hip and has obtained some interesting results in rabbits. His most recent interest includes designing surgical instrumentation for use in spine surgery.
John A. Handal, MD received a B.A in Philosophy and Biology from New York University.