Pediatric Orthopedic & Musculoskeletal Care
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When your child has a broken bone from soccer, needs a brace to straighten her spine, or requires physical therapy after joint surgery, you want to trust your growing child’s body to the experts.
Our pediatric orthopedic specialists provide care for a wide range of childhood and adolescent injuries, disorders, and diseases of the bones, muscles, and joints. We use research to discover new ways to treat children, while teaching the next generation of doctors.
Care That Grows With Your Child
We're dedicated to providing age-appropriate care that supports your child's growing body. Our pediatric orthopedic and musculoskeletal specialists partner with providers in our adult orthopedic services to provide targeted care for adolescents, such as treatment for ligament and cartilage damage and congenital foot and hand deformities.
Conditions We Treat
- Adolescent anterior knee pain
- Bone fractures (including growth plate fractures)
- Cerebral palsy
- Club foot
- Foot disorders
- Hip disorders (including hip dysplasia)
- Inflammatory conditions
- Injuries and deformities of the hand, arm or foot
- Infections or swelling in joints and bones
- Limb length inequality
- Meningomyelocele
- Overuse injuries
- Joint, bone, and muscle health
- Perthes Disease
- Spine injuries and disorders, like scoliosis
- Sports-related injuries, like Little Leaguer's elbow
- Tumors
- Congenital disorders and deformities, like brachial plexus palsy and trigger thumb
Savannah's Story
Over the years, Savannah saw UVA doctors from many different disciplines. She's had over 20 surgeries, and there were times when doctors believed she'd never be able to walk.
MICHELLE TUCKER: I knew something was wrong and even asked, "Is there something wrong
with my baby?" She needed plastic surgeons and she needed
neurosurgeons. And there was nowhere in West Virginia that offered all
of that and so we were told she would be flown out to the University
of Virginia. I guess I can't even really explain it. I just, it just
felt right. It just felt like I was at the right place.
KANT LIN, MD: I got to know Savannah at an extremely young age. She was born with a deformity that was potentially threatening to her life, as well as her future
development.
MICHELLE TUCKER: Each team came and talked to us, and we knew, we were
realistic - we knew what we were up against. We knew - she didn't have
the surgery, she wasn't gonna survive. But it was risky, but we were
ready.
JOHN JANE, Sr., MD: You have to tell the truth and say, "This is a serious
situation," but not making it the truth seem so frightening that they are
discouraged. There is hope. And obviously there was hope, the years
have proven that to be true.
SAVANNAH TUCKER: I just remember, I mean good memories like - the nurses. They had all these patients, but when they saw that one patient - when they saw me, it was like I was their only priority. They treated me as though I didn't look as bad as I know
I did. They really cared. And it's everybody in UVA. It's not just the
nurses, just the doctors, not just the team, it's everybody.
MARK ABEL, MD: I was reading this chart and thinking, "Oh, I'm not sure they have the right
expectations." And it wasn't clear to me that walking was a realistic
goal.
MICHAEL TUCKER: You take a doctor that is unfamiliar with Savannah, and he reads
her medical records before he comes in, and they would actually not
know that that's her. And they'll say, "You're Savannah?" because she
projects herself and it's just amazing.
MARK ABEL, MD: I realized just how incredibly motivated she was. But more importantly, she came from a nurturing environment and had parents that were totally supportive and extremely
intelligent - and understood what it was gonna take for her to get
better.
MICHELLE TUCKER: She surprised us with crutch walking- which we did not know,
you know, would we ever see that. And so she walked her entire
graduation with her crutches. It was my ugly cry moment, I call it.
SAVANNAH TUCKER: I wasn't sure about being in the marching band. I wanted to, but I
didn't know about the pushing and all that with my chair. And so, Dad
had called the director, and she was like, "Oh yeah!" Yeah, and I'm in
the concert band too. So, I love every part of it. I mean, music is my
passion.
KANT LIN, MD: The whole Tucker family is just a remarkable story. It's
sometimes hard to convey how serious these deformities are. I mean,
there was a point where Savannah almost died. It's remarkable how
they've been able to raise her and allow her to be the person that
she's become.
SAVANNAH TUCKER: I'm a God-fearing woman and you take what you're given,
and you realize that you can either be a miserable soul, or you can be
someone who really blesses people.
State-of-the-Art Techniques
Using low-dose spinal imaging, 3D motion analysis, and other techniques, we can diagnosis your child early. This makes your child’s path to recovery as short and simple as possible.
Care for Spinal Deformities in Kids
We’re one of the few centers in Virginia to provide comprehensive care for pediatric spinal deformities caused by spinal cord injury, congenital malformation, neuromuscular conditions, and unknown causes. Our care includes:
- Surgery for spinal deformities
- Minimally invasive management, such as orthotic bracing
- Techniques and equipment that grows with your child
Prosthetic & Orthotic Services
When children have conditions that damage their ability to move, we can help with:
- Orthotics (braces and other support devices that improve the function of disabled body parts)
- Prosthetics (artificial limbs or other body parts)
We provide in-house prosthetic and orthotic services customized to your child's needs. We then partner with your family on long-term care plans that support your child as they grow.
Pediatric Orthopedics
Ranked Among The Best
UVA Health Children's orthopedics department has been ranked among the best in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. With state-of-the-art techniques designed with growing kids in mind, we're equipped to handle even the toughest cases.
Learn More About Our Ranking