Lebanese innovator in the field of medicine: Tony Tannoury registered 12 patents

The Lebanese excel in many fields in different countries of the world, and medicine is one of these fields that has witnessed great excellence that has contributed to changing the condition of people. Dr. Tony Tannoury is one of those Lebanese who have raised the name of Lebanon, and most importantly, he is one of those who have not forgotten their motherland and are trying to transfer success from abroad to it.

Tanoury graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at the Lebanese University in 1994, and completed his postgraduate studies in the United States of America, choosing to specialize in spine, bon,e and joint surgery at Georgetown University in Washington. Tanoury excelled in his specialty and became the head of the spine department at Boston Orthopedic Medical Center in Boston, USA.

The specialized medical devices company Johnson & Johnson, one of the largest global companies, signed a contract with Tanoury when he was in his final year of university. It saw future projects in the Lebanese doctor’s ideas, and Tanoury amazed the world after he came up with modern methods to treat pain and problems of the spine through very advanced and modern surgeries that do not cause any side effects or complications, like those resulting from traditional back and spine surgeries, and make recovery faster and eliminate the risk of infections.

Today, Tanoury has 12 medical inventions and modern treatment techniques. He has contributed to the development of back and spine surgeries through very small holes and incisions and has registered his inventions in major American and European surgical hospitals. He also has more than 50 studies published in medical journals specializing in spine treatment and is a contributor to several books taught to doctors in American universities.

The International Musculoskeletal Society is the name of the association that Tanoury helped establish in 2008 to train doctors around the world, especially Lebanese and Arabs. He believes that thanks to the work of this association, he was able to transfer his success and experiences to Lebanon by training doctors on the latest techniques and developments in the field of the musculoskeletal system.

Simple things hinder doctors in Lebanon from progressing and developing, the most prominent of which, according to Tanoury, is the lack of the necessary infrastructure and a complete medical system. He says: “I always give Johnson & Johnson as an example of what we say, because for a doctor to complete his research, he must have the necessary capabilities and legislation, in addition to a large market to market his ideas and innovations. This is what distinguishes doctors in major countries from them in Lebanon,” noting that a Lebanese doctor who innovates abroad does not mean that he cannot innovate in Lebanon, but rather after securing the requirements for that. He points out, for example, that one of the simplest things that is not available in Lebanon is intellectual property protection.

Tanouri points out that medicine is constantly evolving, and therefore within 10 years from now there will be no place for old operations, and they will all be transformed into existing modern techniques. Therefore, we must work for Lebanon to be one of the pioneers in this field and to regain its medical role in the Middle East.

Tanouri knows that the costs of modern surgery are greater than those of old surgery, but he also stresses that calculating the costs of the old surgery, the accompanying medications, and the days off work afterward make it comparable to the cost of modern surgery.

Tanoury has not forgotten Lebanon, and he is trying hard to benefit this country from its potential, so he is often in Beirut to perform surgeries and participate in medical conferences that allow doctors to keep up with developments.