Sudbir B. Rao, MD
President and
Chair of the Board
American Academy of Neurological and Orthopaedic Surgeons
For the term commencing May 8, 2023
Sudhir Balkrishna Rao, was born and raised in Bombay, India. He attended Seth G.S. Medical College and completed his Orthopaedic training at King Edward Memorial Hospital in Bombay. He then pursued higher Orthopaedic training in Great Britain including a Fellowship in Arthroscopic Surgery which was an up and coming specialty at the time. He then completed a Hand Fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic and a Pediatric Orthopaedic Fellowship at Children’s Hospital in Cincinnati.
In 1995, Dr Rao joined a private practice in Big Rapids Michigan. He is now the senior partner at Big Rapids Orthopaedics and the Premier Hand Center. Dr. Rao devotes a significant portion of his practice to Hand Surgery. However, he is perhaps one the few remaining General Orthopaedic Surgeons. His area of surgical expertise includes Hip, Knee and Shoulder replacements, Trauma, Sports, Pediatric, Foot and Ankle. He is still in full time practice and takes trauma call.
Dr. Rao has authored several publications and book chapters. He was cofounder of an innovative company that manufactured award winning patented shoulder surgery positioner. In his other life Dr. Rao is a proud partner to his amazing wife Sushila a practicing pediatrician. They have one daughter Arya, who is a MD-PhD student at Harvard. Dr. Rao enjoys woodworking, fishing, scuba diving, travel and photography. He looks forward to an exciting time in this leadership role at the AANOS.