75^th Anniversary: Southeastern Conference Greats

Globally Known GYN Surgeon Tom Lyons, One of 75 Student-Athletes Honored for Positive Impact on Community, Region, State & Nation.

Playing football for the Bulldogs at the University of Georgia (1968-70) Tom Lyons started for three years as a center and was a two-time All-American.

Forty years later his alma mater has bestowed another honor on him by selecting him as one of six former student-athletes from UGA to be recognized for the SEC’s 75^th Anniversary campaign, “Stories of Character.” It highlights honorees who have earned distinction by positively impacting their community, state, region and nation.

The SEC’s website (secsports.com) features his story and others at an icon in the top right corner “Stories of Character,” along with a media campaign involving TV, radio and Internet.

Top Honors Over the Years

In the past he was honored with induction into UGA’s Circle of Honor in 1999, and he received the Bill Hartman Award, the highest honor a former UGA student-athlete can attain, in 2002.

In 1996, Lyons became only the second Georgia student-athlete to be honored with the NCAA Silvery Anniversary Award, which is given to people who have developed significantly in their field of endeavor after top performances as NCAA athletes.

Sports Provided Path to Diverse Goals

Of the many goals Dr. Lyons has achieved during his lifetime, he says sports made it all possible. He was the recipient of two post-graduate scholarships, which he used to finance medical school while simultaneously playing several seasons for the Denver Broncos. He started 49 consecutive games at guard (1971-76) and graduated from University of Colorado Medical School in 1977.

While playing football for the Broncos, the director of the Denver Symphony Orchestra learned that Lyons was an avid piano player and asked him to be a guest conductor.

“It was at once nerve-wracking and fantastic,” he recalls. “Take the most amazing sound system and multiply it times ten.”

Lyons inherited a love of flying from his father, who flew in World War II, and he is also an avid pilot.

This month, his profile is the January 2008 Featured Alumni of the Denver Broncos Endzone Report, a publication of Endzone Sports Charities.

Endoscopic Surgery Pioneer

Today, Dr. Lyons is globally recognized as a pioneer in endoscopic laser surgery and has developed two minimally invasive procedures, including the LSH or Laparoscopic Supracervical Hysterectomy, now with a twenty-year history of success. The procedure leaves the cervix intact for better sexual function post-surgery.

Additionally, he has assisted in research and development for several high-tech instruments used in these procedures and has trained surgeons around the world in his techniques.

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Center for Women's Care & Reproductive Surgery© 2006
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This page last updated 03/04/2008