Society Desk
WELCOME BACK Lenox Hill Hospital's Autumn Ball is music to the ears of its staff and board members, as it raises more than $2 million for the 652-bed acute care facility on the Upper East Side. At this year's event on Monday night, the music will be especially sweet. The gala honors the beloved maestro James Levine.
Mr. Levine came to Lenox Hill for orthopedic surgery after he tore three tendons in his right shoulder in an onstage fall on March 1. The stakes were high: If the shoulder did not heal properly, Mr. Levine would not be able to return to conducting at the Metropolitan Opera House or Boston's Symphony Hall.
Fortunately, the man with the scalpel was the chief of shoulder and elbow surgery at Lenox Hill and a former specialist for the New York Jets, Dr. Francis Mendoza, who has performed more than 5,000 shoulder operations since 1982.
In an open surgery that took 90 minutes, Dr. Mendoza repaired Mr. Levine's right rotator cuff by removing a large arthritic spur and mobilizing the torn tendons.
"He was fantastic," Mr. Levine said of his doctor. "He didn't say, as one might, that there are no guarantees and that everyone comes out of it differently."
The results — as opera and symphony aficionados know — were good. Mr. Levine has been back at the podium since July, feeling as strong as ever. "The entire experience with the shoulder was positive, thrilling, and miraculous," Mr. Levine said. "I'm amazed by what great doctors can do."
Dr. Mendoza gives Mr. Levine credit for adhering to a rigorous rehabilitation regimen. "He was the perfect patient," Dr. Mendoza said. "He followed all of the instructions and did everything and more to make a full recovery."
"I didn't worry very much. It's not my style," Mr. Levine said.
Mr. Levine isn't planning to conduct at the gala, but if he demonstrates his right arm's full range of motion during his acceptance of the hospital's Medal of Distinction, he is sure to win a standing ovation.
Tickets to the event can be purchased by calling 212-434-2544.
