Flatow graduated from Princeton University with an A.B. in biomedical sciences in 1977 after completing a 39-page long senior thesis titled "The Comparative Biochemistry of Microtubule Accessory Proteins." He earned his medical degree from the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1981 and completed a surgical residency at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center and an orthopaedic residency and fellowship at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center.
