Michael Ain

Michael Ain is an American orthopedic surgeon who is thought to be the first and only surgeon with achondroplasia. He practiced at Johns Hopkins University Hospital.

Early life and education

Ain grew up in Roslyn, Long Island, New York in a Jewish family.[1] His parents were not dwarfs.[1] Ain underwent a corrective osteotomy to straighten his bowed legs by breaking and then resetting them.[2] He attended Phillips Andover Academy followed by Brown University, where he played second base on the varsity baseball team.[2]

Career

Ain was initially rejected from over 20 medical schools, sometimes explicitly due to his dwarfism. When he reapplied the next year, he was accepted to Albany Medical College, from which he graduated in 1989. After one year of pediatrics residency at UC Irvine Medical Center, Ain returned to Albany Medical College for his orthopedic surgery residency. Following his fellowship in pediatric orthopedic surgery, Ain joined the faculty at Johns Hopkins University Hospital in 1995.[3]

Ain was featured in Dwarfs: Not a Fairy Tale in HBO's America Undercover series.[4]

A textbook which featured Ain's photo, and profiled his expertise in the repair of bone defects resulting from achondroplasia, was praised for countering ableism.[5]

Personal life

Ain's wife is 5 feet 6 inches tall. Their daughter, who has achondroplasia, is an attorney.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b Hendricks, Melissa (1999). "Aiming High". Johns Hopkins Magazine. Retrieved 2026-03-18.
  2. ^ a b "Stature of surgeon is not about height Dwarf: Dr. Michael Ain's genes put a stop to his growth but not to his determination to excel in medicine". Baltimore Sun. 1998-09-06. Retrieved 2026-03-18.
  3. ^ a b Chowdhury, Arushi Roy (2025-10-30). "Dr. Michael Ain: The Johns Hopkins Surgeon Redefining Dwarfism Care". Medbound Times. Retrieved 2026-03-18.
  4. ^ Pitman, Randy (2002-01-11). "Dwarfs: Not a Fairy Tale". Video Librarian. Retrieved 2026-03-18.
  5. ^ Da Silva, Sarah-Marie; Hubbard, Katharine (2024). "Confronting the Legacy of Eugenics and Ableism: Towards Anti-Ableist Bioscience Education". CBE—Life Sciences Education. 23 (3). doi:10.1187/cbe.23-10-0195. ISSN 1931-7913. PMC 11440745. PMID 39074120. Retrieved 2026-03-18.

The First Man With Dwarfism to Become An Orthopedic Surgeon, ABC via Daily Motion, 1999

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