Francois Lalonde, M.D., is the Chair of the Department of Surgery at CHOC Children’s. Dr. Lalonde graduated from the University of Toronto in Canada. He completed his internship in pediatrics at the Montreal Children’s Hospital/McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and his residency in orthopedic surgery at the University of Ottowa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Dr. Lalonde is board-certified with the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery. As the department chair, Dr. Lalonde is a member of CHOC’s Joint Leadership and Operating Room Committees. 

 

In addition to his medical degree, Dr. Lalode has a master’s degree in medical education. Prior to relocating to Orange County in 2005, he was a faculty member at the University of California, San Diego. He is currently an assistant professor on the voluntary faculty at the University of California, Irvine, where he also serves on the education committee for the orthopaedics department.

 

As the Chair of the Department of Surgery, Dr. Lalonde is leading CHOC’s continuing efforts to provide the most thorough, timely access to surgical care for all of Orange County’s children and beyond. CHOC’s integrated team of surgeons and pediatric specialists work closely with one another to ensure patients receive the most comprehensive care possible. CHOC partners with physicians and hospitals in the region in order to provide children the care they need and cannot receive elsewhere. In fact, CHOC’s expertise in the region is so well known, it is one of the top five transfer hospitals in the nation. 

 

In 2011, CHOC Children’s was ranked within the top 50 children’s hospitals in the United States among eight different specialties, including neurology, urology and orthopaedics by U.S. News and World Report. While honored by these distinctions, Dr. Lalonde wants more. 

 

“Working with my colleagues and CHOC’s administration, we are focused on continually seeking out the latest in emerging technologies that will allow us to provide our patients with the most accurate diagnoses and state-of-the-art treatments,” Dr. Lalonde said. “This is an exciting time to be part of a premiere facility like CHOC, and I am proud to be working with the incredible specialty teams innovating tomorrow’s care today.”

 

Dr. Lalonde is one of ten orthopaedic surgeons selected across the United States to participate in the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Leadership Fellow Program and has been appointed to the board of the California Orthopaedic Association. He serves on the CalOptima Peer Review and Credentialing Committee and has been selected among Orange County's top doctors for the past two years and again for 2012. He has participated in medical missions with the organization Arpan Global Charities in Egypt and China.