Pediatric orthopedics

When you bring your child to one of our offices, we gather all of the necessary medical information as we work to find a diagnosis. Some conditions can be diagnosed with a simple physical examination, while others need imaging services to get to the root of your child's symptoms.

Our diagnostic and imaging services include:

• Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis prognostic testing
• Computerized tomography (CT) scan
• Electromyography (EMG)
• Low-dose X-rays and arthrograms
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
• Nerve conduction studies (NCS)
• Newborn hip screening
• Range of motion tests
• Ultrasounds

When your child needs immediate care for a musculoskeletal injury, our teams of pediatric orthopedic experts are standing by. Our orthopedic walk–in clinics are located at Sky Ridge Medical Center and Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children and offer immediate treatment for acute injuries such as sprains, strains, fractures, dislocations and ligament injuries.

When your child or teenager has an acute injury (within the last seven days), bring them to our walk-in clinic.

Walk–In Hours: Monday - Friday, 8:30am to 11:30am at our Lone Tree and Denver locations.

No appointment necessary.

Services offered at our pediatric walk-in clinic:

• Comprehensive evaluation with a pediatric-trained orthopedic specialist
• Casting, bracing, and splinting
• Diagnostic imaging: Low dose X-ray (no facility or radiology reading fee)
• Coordination of care for advanced imaging and/or surgery if needed

Many children come to our office with an acute orthopedic condition — such as growing pains, ganglion cysts or ankle sprains — that requires minimal intervention. For these, time is often the best medicine.

For other temporary conditions, our orthopedists might recommend monitoring, over-the-counter (OTC) anti-inflammatory medications, at-home exercise programs and activity modification (e.g., refraining from playing sports for a time). We also may recommend physical therapy or an orthotic device for congenital or chronic conditions.

Our nonsurgical treatment options include:

• Casts, splints and slings
• Circular fixators
• Hip spica cast
• Joint manipulation
• Pavlik harness (to treat developmental dysplasia of the hip)
• Prescription pain medication
• Rigid and nonrigid braces
• Rigid hip orthosis

Personalized orthotic devices

Some of our orthotics include body part-specific devices such as knee-ankle-foot orthotics (KAFOs) and elbow-wrist-hand-finger orthotics (EWHFOs). These devices are often custom-built to fit your child properly as they strengthen muscles, heal fractures and stabilize joints. They may also need an orthotic device following surgery or to help correct a congenital condition.

Nonsurgical options for congenital orthopedic disorders

Parents often come to our office hoping to treat a congenital abnormality with surgery, fearing their child will face unnecessary struggles in life due to their condition. Other parents are wary of surgery and are hoping for nonsurgical options. Whatever reason brings you to our door, our orthopedists are here to offer you information and reassurance.

We also know that adaptation is the hallmark of childhood. A child born with a congenital difference can, of course, go on to lead a productive, healthy life. Some of our smallest patients with symbrachydactyly (shortened or missing fingers) or mild thumb hypoplasia simply adapt and learn ways to function just as effectively as their peers. For many of our other young patients who are born with a cleft hand, the function is so exceptional that no treatment is necessary.

Like any of life's many challenges, your child will face theirs with your love and support, and, when needed, the noninvasive care of our pediatric orthopedic clinic.

Ultimately, some injuries and conditions do require surgery. Our talented orthopedic surgeons have decades of experience providing a wide range of procedures to help your child grow and thrive. Minimally invasive procedures we offer include steroid injections, pars injections and joint aspiration.

Other more complex and condition-specific procedures include:

• Cartilage transplantation
• Extra- and intra-articular ACL surgery
• Hemiepiphysiodesis
• Opponensplasty
• Skin grafts
• Spinal fusion
• Spinal stenosis surgery
• Trigger thumb surgery
• Vertebral body tethering (VBT), a fusionless scoliosis treatment
• Web-space reconstruction

Advanced surgeries for congenital disorders

We also offer highly specialized, complex surgical procedures for the hands and feet, such as pollicization to treat severe thumb hypoplasia. For children born with a floating or no thumb, our surgeons can create one by moving, rotating and shortening the index finger.

Our pediatric orthopedic surgeons can also perform a toe-to-hand transfer, which is a complex microsurgery that requires years of dedication and training. These procedures take both function and cosmetics into consideration so that your child can move through life with little difficulty.

Our pediatric orthopedists can manage and treat rare congenital differences as well as common injuries and conditions of the feet and ankles. Recognized as regional experts in the management of pediatric orthopedics, our specialists are fellowship trained in their orthopedic subspecialty of the lower extremities.

Many foot and ankle conditions are related to overuse in athletics, so our orthopedic surgeons work closely with our sports medicine physicians to create a plan of care. We also have extensive knowledge and experience working with children born with congenital foot differences, such as missing or extra toes and club feet.

From injuries such as wrist sprains and finger dislocations to congenital abnormalities such as cleft hands or polydactyly, our hand and upper extremity specialists can treat a range of conditions. We treat the hands, wrists, shoulders and elbows.

Joint care is an essential part of any orthopedic program. Our specialists can help if your child has a condition of the knee or hip, including transient toxic synovitis, snapping hip syndrome (dancer's hip), developmental hip dysplasia and torn ACL. Whether it's a congenital difference or a sports injury, we are here to diagnose and treat your child.

We are dedicated to the treatment of spinal disorders in infants, children and teenagers. Our patient-focused approach is essential to understanding your child's overall health, underlying medical problems, lifestyle, school requirements, athletic aspirations and expectations. We want you to have the information you need to fully understand their spine condition and our recommended treatments. We also offer many advanced treatments for spine conditions. For example, we provide minimally invasive surgery for scoliosis that requires no spinal fusion.

The doctors in our youth sports medicine program understand that young athletes don't want to quit because of an injury. We also understand parents want to make sure their athletes can return to the game safely and quickly. Our specialists can help.

Musculoskeletal injuries and medical problems in growing children differ from those commonly seen in older patients. It's important to see our pediatric sports medicine specialists who understand this distinction. We are also highly experienced in talking to children of all ages in a way that’s developmentally appropriate as well as compassionate.