Division of Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery | NYU Langone Health

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Department of Orthopedic Surgery Divisions Division of Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery

Division of Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery

The Division of Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery, part of NYU Langone Health’s Department of Orthopedic Surgery, trains orthopedic surgeons to treat musculoskeletal conditions in infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. These conditions include fracture care; scoliosis; upper extremity, hip, knee, and limb deformities; foot and ankle conditions; clubfoot; and the musculoskeletal aspects of neuromuscular disorders and skeletal dysplasias.

We provide a unique opportunity for trainees to collaborate with world-renowned experts in the field in a collegial environment. You work with surgeons and nonoperative providers, including those in physical medicine and rehabilitation, nonoperative sports medicine, and physical and occupational therapy. You also partner with radiologists and learn how to use office-based ultrasound for enhanced physical examination of the hip.

Our faculty are international leaders in the field and participate in a number of multicenter studies, including some with the International Hip Dysplasia Institute and the International Perthes Study Group. We also contribute to studies on outcomes of treatment for open fractures, simple bone cysts, and neurofibromatosis. Members of our faculty serve on advisory boards for most of the major societies and organizations dedicated to teaching pediatric orthopedics.

Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery Education

As a medical student, resident, or fellow, you learn the intricacies of caring for children and adolescents with a wide range of musculoskeletal conditions. These include scoliosis, brachial plexus injuries, congenital hand issues, upper extremity fractures, hip dysplasia from infancy through young adulthood, Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease, and avascular necrosis of the hip. You also learn the musculoskeletal aspects of caring for patients with neuromuscular issues such as cerebral palsy, spasticity, spinal atrophy, spina bifida, hypotonia, and many other conditions that affect bone and joint health.

Weekly meetings include a core curriculum conference and review in a didactic format. Trainees actively participate in our division-specific grand rounds, during which faculty discuss all pre- and postoperative cases, and the opportunity exists to meet weekly with faculty to further explore issues of particular interest.

Our curriculum includes a monthly combined hip preservation conference with the department’s Division of Adult Reconstructive Surgery, a combined pediatric hand conference with the Division of Hand Surgery, and a combined pediatric spine conference with the Division of Spine Surgery.

Medical students wishing to explore orthopedic surgery may take electives in our division as part of NYU Grossman School of Medicine’s Curriculum for the 21st Century. Residents complete rotations in our division as part of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery’s residency program.

During our one-year fellowship in pediatric orthopedic surgery, you gain hands-on experience performing evidence-based surgical and disease management techniques, as well as attend department-wide lectures. Weekly division conferences give residents and fellows opportunities to interact with surgeons and other providers.

We also host yearly symposia on hip dysplasia, brachial plexus injuries, pediatric sports medicine, and multidisciplinary neuromuscular care.

Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery Research

Our investigators actively participate in a number of clinical and basic science research projects aimed at improving outcomes for young patients with musculoskeletal issues. During our monthly training meeting, research staff and faculty review current projects and generate novel research ideas. Fellows, residents, and medical students involved in research play a major part in this meeting, providing input and status updates on their current research endeavors.

As a participant in our fellowship program, you have opportunities to conduct research of your own interest and to collaborate with other divisions in the department on both clinical and basic science research projects. Many of our medical students, residents, and fellows have published papers in prestigious peer-reviewed journals and enjoy regular access to various research and educational resources.

Learn more about research in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery.

Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery Clinical Services

Children of all ages receive comprehensive pediatric musculoskeletal care at Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital at NYU Langone. Our expert pediatric orthopedists perform hip preservation procedures and treat a variety of injuries and conditions, such as brachial plexus injuries, cerebral palsy, clubfoot, congenital hand deformities, hip dysplasia, slipped upper femoral epiphysis, Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease, neurofibromatosis, spina bifida, upper extremity issues, scoliosis, and pediatric orthopedic trauma and fractures.

Our pediatric orthopedists work alongside other specialists at the Center for Children, part of Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital, to provide thorough, interdisciplinary care and management for the full range of pediatric musculoskeletal and neuromuscular disorders.

We also provide a Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery Referral Network, which enables families to find quality orthopedic care in several convenient locations, including Westchester County, Long Island’s Nassau and Suffolk Counties, New Jersey, and Connecticut.

Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery Leadership and Administration

The chief of the Division of Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery is Mara Karamitopoulos, MD, who can be contacted at mara.karamitopoulos@nyulangone.org.

For more information about our fellowship program, please contact Karina Rustia, MBA, our fellowship coordinator, at 212-598-2783 or karina.rustia@nyulangone.org.