Orthopaedic Surgery and Sports Medicine

The Division of Orthopaedic Surgery and Sports Medicine at Children’s National Hospital treats children with conditions affecting the structure or function of their joints and skeletal system – from head to toe. Our surgeons are leaders in a wide range of specialties, including spinal deformities, bone health and hip preservation, which has led to our ranking among the best pediatric orthopaedics programs in the United States by U.S. News & World Report.

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Choosing Children's National for Orthopaedic Surgery and Sports Medicine

Our goal is to treat our young patients with the most advanced and least invasive procedures available. Because we focus only on caring for children and treat a high volume of cases, our team has the expertise to deliver excellent results so your child can regain optimal mobility and an improved quality of life.

Pediatric Expertise

Our large team of fellowship-trained pediatric orthopaedists, led by Matthew Oetgen, M.D., M.B.A., treats every type of orthopaedic injury and condition—from the most common to the most complex.

Specialized Orthopaedic Programs

In addition to their dedication to meeting the unique needs of children, many of our physicians have undergone training in subspecialties within orthopaedic medicine. This allows us to offer a wide variety of treatment programs for pediatric orthopaedic disorders and injuries.

Our programs include:

Bone Health Program

Certain diseases or medications can affect the strength and density of a child’s bones. Our team, led by world-renowned pediatric orthopaedic expert, Laura Tosi, M.D., helps patients develop stronger and healthier bones to reduce the risk of fractures and other injuries. Common conditions we treat include limb deformities and skeletal dysplasias such as osteogensis imperfecta (brittle bone disease), achondroplasia, fibrous dysplasia, neurofibromatosis and osteopetrosis.

Hand Program

Hip Program

Our team offers comprehensive care and hope to children and young adults with hip disorders. Whether your child was born with or developed a hip disease, or has acquired one due to injury or trauma, we are dedicated to achieving excellent outcomes for your child. Our team includes renowned pediatric orthopaedic specialist Benjamin Martin, M.D., who has expertise in treating conditions such as developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH), hip dysplasia in children and young adults and Legge-Calve-Perthes disease. We also treat hip problems caused by other conditions including sickle cell disease, skeletal dysplasia, leg length discrepancy and cerebral palsy.

Limb Lengthening

From bone shortening surgery to the best available lengthening devices, our team expertly delivers the complete range of pediatric limb lengthening treatments, including the only approved frameless limb-lengthening device.

Common conditions we treat that cause limb length discrepancy include:

Limb deformities
Blounts disease
Fibula hemimelia (shortness or absence of the fibula)
Tibia hemimelia (shortness or absence of the tibia)
Clubfoot
Cerebral palsy

Orthopaedic Trauma

Spine Program

Our pediatric orthopaedic specialists, including spine surgeon Shannon Kelly, M.D., are highly experienced in treating children with scoliosis and other types of spinal deformities. We use innovative treatments, such as the MAGEC™ Growing Rod, to optimize the health and function of your child’s spine and spinal halo-gravity traction, a treatment that can help gradually straighten the spine over time and decrease the size of the spinal curve prior to surgery.

Sports Medicine

We care for more than 5,000 patients each year. Unlike programs for adults, we have specialists who utilize techniques that protect your child’s physical development. We are adept at treating sprains and strains as well as sports overuse injuries like shin splints and spondylolysis. Whatever the condition, our experts provide the highest level of treatment to get your child back to his or her normal activities as quickly and painlessly as possible.