Matthew Dobbs, MD
Pediatric Orthopedic Surgeon
St. Louis Children’s Hospital
- Director of the Clubfoot Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, the nation’s premier foot deformity clinic specializing in the Ponseti method for cast correction of clubfoot. Dr. Dobbs is at the forefront of both research and clinical treatment of clubfoot, making St. Louis Children’s Hospital one of the world’s leading treatment facilities for this genetic disorder.
- Inventor of the “Dobbs Brace,” a new hinged brace for the correction of clubfoot. The Dobbs Brace allows the wearer enough mobility to stand, bend and even walk – something that was unthinkable with the “metal bar and boot brace” used as the standard for the past 40 years. Because of increased mobility and comfort with the Dobbs brace, parental compliance for brace use (an imperative for effective treatment) has increased from 40 percent to 95 percent.
- Dr. Dobbs is one of a small group of orthopaedic surgeons who travel the world teaching the Ponseti method to underserved populations. International travel includes: China, Russia, Singapore and numerous other countries.
- Dr. Dobbs’ work has been featured on ABC World News and in several medical journals.
Notable Quotes from Dr. Dobbs
Dr. Dobbs on the benefits of casting and bracing clubfoot patients:
“We're starting to see an increase in the number of doctors and parents electing for surgery to treat clubfoot and that's not a good trend. Parents have been giving up too soon because the treatment process is labor intensive and the old brace is uncomfortable, but we have a critical message – don't give up – the data is crystal clear: kids who have surgery to treat clubfoot are more likely to have additional surgeries and experience more problems with arthritis and mobility issues in adolescence and adulthood. Those who opt for casting and bracing experience normal mobility later in life.”
Dr. Dobbs on the relationship between parental compliance and the successful treatment of a child’s clubfoot:
“If the family follows our treatment method, there’s more than a 95 percent chance that nothing else will need to be done to the child’s feet. I explain to parents that clubfoot correction is 2 percent in our hands and 98 percent in theirs.”
Dr. Dobbs on teaching the non-surgical Ponseti method to underserved population:
“This technique doesn’t need an operating room, anesthetics or drugs, so it is practical for physicians in countries with few resources. Considering this disorder occurs in one in 1,000 births worldwide—and in 10 in 1,000 births in the Polynesian Islands and New Zealand—teaching the Ponseti method is vital to the health and well-being of thousands of children around the world.”