After 40 Year Surgical Career, Michael Stephen Thompson Dies At 72

Michael Steven Thompson, M.D., who came from a family of doctors and Ph.D. researchers, entered surgical residency in 1977 at SUNY in Upstate New York and served the orthopedic needs of the Burlington, Massachusetts, community at both Lahey Hospital and Beverly Hospital for decades, passed away on October 23, 2022, at his home in Weston, Massachusetts, after a valiant battle against cancer.

Dr. Thompson started his medical journey with a bachelor’s degree of science from Columbia University in 1973. He quickly followed that with a medical degree from the State University of New York Upstate Medical University in Syracuse in 1977. His residency in general surgery was also at SUNY in Syracuse and then his orthopedic training came from Tufts New England Medical Center in Boston where he graduated in 1983. For the next 38 years, he served the needs of the northern Boston suburb community.

Thompson’s love for medicine and orthopedics started early when he and his brother Arthur played sports as kids. They ended up at the ER or the doctor’s office many times throughout the years and it made an impression upon him.

His family said his attention to detail and the high standards to which he held himself gave him the exceptional ability to deliver orthopedic care to his patients. He also loved sharing his medical knowledge with his friends and family. They would often come to him for advice when they had a medical concern.

Dr. Thompson was born on August 13, 1950, in New York City to his parents, Edna and Errol Thompson, M.D. The family eventually moved to New Rochelle in the mid-1950s. He was the youngest of three siblings. Both his sister Karen Greene, Ph.D. and his brother Arthur Thompson, M.D., survive him.

Thompson had a passion for many things in his life. He loved to travel to find the best golf courses to play on, and he loved skiing, and sailing on his sailboat Trivial Pursuit. He also enjoyed zooming around racetracks in his Porsche and hunting. Another favorite pursuit of his was photography, especially nature photography, on his adventures to places like Iceland and Tanzania.

Thompson was an innovator whether he was in the operating room or at home. He was always researching the latest technology, his family said. At Lahey Hospital, he was instrumental in establishing a surgical simulation center to train up and coming orthopedic surgeons.

His greatest joy of course was his family, especially his two daughters Mikaela and Isabelle.

“His sense of humor, love of jazz, photography, golf, grilling, sailing, skiing, cars, hunting, and most importantly, his love for his family and friends were with him to the end,” his family wrote.