top of page

ABOUT

Dr. Lee Profile Photo

Dr. Lee was fellowship trained in Interventional Spine at The Orthopedic Clinic Association (TOCA) in Phoenix, Arizona. He completed his residency training at the State University of New York (SUNY), Downstate and is Board Certified in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (PM&R) where he served as Chief Resident. He is graduated from the Chicago Medical School (CMS).

 

Dr. Lee holds over a decade worth of experience in the interventional spine and pain treatment, specializing in non-surgical treatment of a variety of pain conditions including: 

​

  • Neck Pain

  • Back Pain

  • Failed Back Surgery

  • Sciatica

  • Degenerative Disc Disease

  • Spinal Stenosis

  • Sacroiliac Joint Pain

  • Osteoarthritis

  • Peripheral Neuropathy

  • Scoliosis

  • Sports-related Injuries

 

Dr. Lee is proud to offer the most up-to-date treatments to address pain symptoms. He is one of the few pain physicians in Orange County with specialized training in neuromodulation and minimally-invasive spinal procedures.

​

He remains an active member in multiple medical organizations, holding leadership positions over the past few years. He continues to teach and present on a variety of pain-related topics on both regional and national levels. He reviews interventional spine and pain manuscripts for the journals of Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine, Pain Medicine and PM&R. 

​

Dr. Lee provides sports coverage from high school to the professional level in a wide variety of sports including football, hockey, baseball and basketball. He volunteers as the team physician for Esperanza High School Football Program. He serves as a Spine Consultant for the USA Volleyball Team. 

Ankle Measurement

EDUCATION

THE ORTHOPAEDIC CLINIC ASSOCIATION, ARIZONA
Interventional Spine Fellowship, 2012

STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK, DOWNSTATE
Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Residency, 2011

RUSH UNIVERSITY, CHICAGO
General Surgery Internship, 2008

​

CHICAGO MEDICAL SCHOOL
Medical Doctorate, 2007

​

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, RIVERSIDE
Biochemisty and English, 2002

AFFILIATIONS & CERTIFICATION

  • American Academy of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (AAPMR) - Chair of Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPG) Committee

  • American Board of Pain Medicine (ABPM) - Credential Committee Chair

  • American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians (ASIPP) - Member

  • American Society of Pain and Neuroscience (ASPN) - Assistant VP of Clinical Affairs

  • North American Neuromodulation Society (NANS) Member

  • Orange County Medical Association (OCMA) Member

  • Pacific Spine & Pain Society (PSPS) - Executive Board Member, Treasurer

  • Placentia Linda Hospital - Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee, By-Laws Review Committee

  • Spine Interventional Society (SIS) - Evidence Analysis Committee 

PUBLICATIONS & ABSTRACTS

Restorative Neurostimulation: A Clinical Guide for Therapy Adoption
Chakravarthy K, Lee D, Tram J, Sheth S, Heros R, Manion S, Patel V, Kiesel K, Ghandour Y, Gilligan C. J Pain Res. 2022;15:1759-1774.

​

Social Media and Professional Conduct (SMART): Best Practice Guidelines from the American Society of Pain and Neuroscience (ASPN)
Desai MJ, Khatri N, Hagedorn JM, Strand N, D'Souza RS, Tieppo Francio V, Abd-Elsayed A, Lee DW, Petersen E, Goree JH, Weisbein JS, Deer TR. J Pain Res. 2022 Jun 14;15:1669-1678.

​

Review of Interventional Treatments for Cluneal Neuropathy

Benjamin Gill DO MBA, David S. Cheng MD, Patrick Buchanan MD, David W. Lee MD. Accepted for publication, Pain Physician 2022

​

Guidelines for Composing and Assessing a Paper on the Treatment of Pain: A Practical Application of Evidence-Based Medicine Principles to a Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of the MINT Randomized Clinical Trials

Reza Ehsanian, MD, PhD, Daniel C. Malone, RPh, PhD, FAMCP, Johan Hambraeus, MD, Pedro M. Monteiro, MD, Michael Hodde, DO, David Lee, MD, Michael McKenna, MD, Sayed E. Wahezi, MD, Zachary L. McCormick, MD, Belinda Duszynski, BS, David S. Cheng, MD. Accepted for publication, Interventional Pain Medicine Journal 2022.

​

Successful Diagnosis of Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction

Buchanan P, Vodapally S, Lee DW, Hagedorn JM, Bovinet C, Strand N, Sayed D, Deer T. J Pain Res. 2021 Oct 8;14:3135-3143.

​

Dorsal Root Ganglion Stimulation (DRGS) for Treatment of Chronic Upper Abdominal Pain: A Case Report

David W. Lee, MD; Richard Paicius, MD; Timothy R. Deer, MD. Accepted for publication in Pain Medicine Case Reports, 2021.

​

Consensus Practice Guidelines on Interventions for Cervical Spine (Facet) Joint Pain from a Multispecialty International Working Group

Robert W. Hurley MD, Meredith C.B. Adams MD, Meredith Barad MD, Arun Bhaskar MD, Anuj Bhatia MD, Andrea Chadwick MD, Timothy R. Deer MD, Jennifer Hah MD, W. Michael Hooten MD, Narayan R. Kissoon MD,  David W. Lee MD, Zack L. McCormick MD, Jee Youn Moon MD, Samer Narouze MD, David A. Provenzano MD, Byron J. Schneider MD, Maarten van Eerd MD, Jan Van Zundert MD, Mark S. Wallace MD, Sara M. Wilson MD, Zirong Zhao MD, Steven P. Cohen MD. Accepted for publication Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (RAPM), 2021.

​

Latest Evidence-based Application for Radiofrequency Neurotomy (LEARN): Best Practices Guidelines from the American Society of Pain and Neuroscience (ASPN)

David W. Lee, MD; Scott Pritzlaff, MD; Michael J. Jung, MD, MBA; Priyanka Ghosh, MD; Jonathan M. Hagedorn, MD; Jordan Tate, MD; Keith Scarfo, DO; Natalie Strand, MD; Krishnan Chakravarthy MD, PhD; Dawood Sayed, MD; Timothy Deer, MD; Kasra Amirdelfan, MD. Accepted for publication in the Journal of Pain Research, 2021.

​

Pain Fellows Survey: COVID-19 Impact on the Training and Job Market

David W. Lee, MD; Timothy Deer, MD. Accepted for publication in Pain Medicine, 2021 May.

​

Physical Therapy Considerations and Recommendations for Patients Following Spinal Cord Stimulator Implant Surgery

Gene Tekmyster, DO; Holly Jonely, PA; David W. Lee, MD; Jason Myerson, DPT; Melinda Avery, DPT; Maxim Moradian, MD; Mehul J Desai, MD. Neuromodulation: Technology at the Neural Interface, 2021 Apr 5. 

​

Review of Current Evidence for Minimally Invasive Posterior Sacroiliac-Joint Fusion (MIPSF)

David W. Lee, MD; Denis Patterson, MD; Dawood Sayed, MD. International Journal of Spine Surg, 2021 Jun;15(3):514-524. 

​

Combined Pulsed and Continuous Radiofrequency for the Treatment of Dorsal Plantar Digital Neuritis

North American Neuromodulation Society Annual Assembly, 2021.     

​

AAPM&R Review for North American Spine Society Evidence-Based Clinical Guidelines for Multidisciplinary Spine Care: Diagnosis and Treatment of Low Back Pain

David W. Lee, MD; John M. Lesher, MD, MPH; Christopher J. Standaert, MD; Santhosh A. Thomas, DO, MBA.; 2020.

​

Sacral Burst Neuromodulation via Caudal Approach as a Treatment for Chronic Coccydynia

David W. Lee, MD; Albert Lai, MD. Neuromodulation: Technology at the Neural Interface. December 2019. Volume 22, Issue 8; 992-994. 2019.

​

Retrospective Analysis of the Long-term Efficacy for Fluoroscopically-Guided Genicular Nerve Radiofrequency Ablation

David W. Lee, MD. North American Neuromodulation Society Annual Assembly; 2019.

​

Fluoroscopically-Guided Therapeutic Cervical Zygapophyseal Joint Injections May Reduce the Need for Radiofrequency Neurotomy

David W. Lee, MD; Christopher W. Huston, MD. Pain Physician: November/December 2018: 21:E661-E665; 2018.

​

Role of Rehabilitation in Alien Hand Syndrome 

American Association of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Annual Assembly; 2011.
Vivek Mehta, MD; David Palma, MD; David Lee, MD; Paul Pipia, MD.

​

Mueller-Weiss Syndrome: A Case Report   

American Association of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Annual Assembly; 2011                                       
Vivek Mehta, MD; David Lee, MD; Getahun Kifle, MD. 

​

Management of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome and the Outcome of Traumatic Brain Injury: A Case Report

Association of Academic Physiatrists Annual Assembly; 2011.
Shamel Hashish, MD; David Lee, MD; Sanjeev Agarwal, MD; Stella Mansoukhani, MD.

​

Progressive Isthmic Spondylolithesis Leading to Spondyloptosis in Two Patients

Association of Academic Physiatrists Annual Assembly; 2011.
Paul S. Lin, MD; David W. Lee, MD; Paul A. Pipia, MD; Sanjeev Agarwal, MD; Dan Kline, MD.

​

Pulmonary Rehabilitation of Chronic Respiratory Insufficiency Secondary to Phrenic Nerve Neuropathy: A Case Report

American Association of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Annual Assembly; 2010.
Jos Santz MD, David W. Lee MD, Renuka Pinto MD, Tsai Chao MD.

​

Cerebellar Infarction and Myelopathy Associated with Cervical Instability and Vertebral Artery Dissection: A Case Report

American Association of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Annual Assembly; 2010.         
David W. Lee MD; David Perna MD; Ash Taha MD; Ehsan Abdheshian MD; Jack Mensch MD.

​

Rehabilitation of a Patient with Post-Anoxic Myoclonic Encephalopathy (Lance-Adams Syndrome)       

Association of Academic Physiatrists Annual Assembly; 2010.             
David W. Lee, MD; Jacqueline Weisbein, DO; Charles Simmons, MD, Marcel Bayol, MD.

​

Role of Acute Rehabilitation in Brown-Sequard Pattern Injury: A Case Report     

Association of Academic Physiatrists Annual Assembly; 2010.
Casey J. Fisher, MD; Vivek Mehta, MD; David W. Lee, MD; Ibrahim Nasser, MD.

​

Clostridium Difficile-Induced Toxic Megacolon in the Setting of Guillain-Barre Syndrome in a Rehabilitation Patient: A Case Report   

American Association of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Annual Assembly; 2009.
Charles W. Simmons, MD; David W. Lee, MD; Paul A. Pipia, MD; Paulinder S. Rai, DO.

​

Tropical Spastic Paraparesis and the Role of Rehabilitation: A Case Report 

Association of Academic Physiatrists Annual Assembly; 2009.
David W. Lee, MD; Shamel Hashish, MD; Shinto Koshy, MS; Lisa S. Ren, MD.

​

Simultaneous Onset of Stroke and Spinal Cord Infarction: A Case Report   

Association of Academic Physiatrists Annual Assembly; 2009.
Farruq Siddiqui, MD; Getahn Kifle, MD; David W. Lee, MD; William Pomilla, MD; Sanjeev Agarwal, MD.

​

LECTURES & PRESENTATIONS

​

Spinal Cord Stimulation Lab Training Station  

Spine Fellows and Young Surgeon Workshop: Filling the Gap 2022

​

Dorsal Root Ganglion (DRG) Spinal Cord Stimulation Lab Training Station & Multifidi Stimulation Implant Therapy Lecture

Pacific Spine and Pain Society Neuromodulation Lab 2022

​

Burst Waveform Lecture 

American Society of Pain and Neuroscience 2022 Innovation Summit

​

Dorsal Root Ganglion (DRG) Spinal Cord Stimulation Lab Training Station

American Society of Pain and Neuroscience 2022 Innovation Summit

​

Kyphoplasty Lab Training Station

Pacific Spine and Pain Society 2021 Annual Conference

​

Neuromodulation Waveforms 2021

Pacific Spine and Pain Society 2021 Annual Conference

​

Beyond Epidurals: Introduction to Minimally Invasive Interventional Spine Therapies

Placentia Linda Hospital/Yorba Linda Community Center Presentation; 2021

​

Peripheral Nerve Stimulation (PNS) Lab Training Stationy Lecture

American Society of Pain and Neuroscience 2021 Annual Conference

​

Technical Approaches in Implantation Techniques: Anchoring, Trial Techniques, Pocket Location

American Society of Pain and Neuroscience (ASPN) 2021 Conference

​

The Future of the Specialty with the Young Guns of ASPN

American Society of Pain and Neuroscience (ASPN) 2021 Conference

​

Navigating the First 5 Years Out of Practice

American Society of Pain and Neuroscience (ASPN) 2021 Conference

​

Kyphoplasty Lab Training Station

Pacific Spine and Pain Society 2021, Minimally-Invasive Spine Lab, Seattle, WA

​

AAPM&R CPG/Registry Webinar on Treating Low Back Pain   

David W. Lee, MD; John M. Lesher, MD; Armando Miciano, MD

​

Overview of Sacroiliac Joint Fusion Systems and Review of Evidence

Pacific Spine and Pain Society 2020 Annual Conference

​

Introduction to Neuromodulation/Pain and Interventional Spine Fellowships

PMR Scholars Presentation; 2020

​

Novel Selective Neuromodulation Therapies

University of California at Irvine, Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Lecture; 2020

​

Dorsal Root Ganglion Stimulation (DRG-S) Lab Training Station

Pacific Spine and Pain Society 2019 Annual Conference

​

​

bottom of page