Welcome to ChildBones!
Welcome to the practice website of Donald K. McCartney, MD and the Pediatric Orthopedic Team at Optim Orthopedics in Savannah, Georgia. Dr. McCartney is the only fellowship trained pediatric orthopedic surgeon in practice on the east coast from Charleston to Jacksonville. In addition to Savannah, we have practice locations all over south Georgia.
Our practice includes the treatment of childhood sprains and fractures, growth disturbances, walking abnormalities, deformities of spine and skeleton (such as scoliosis and clubfeet), cerebral palsy, and many other childhood skeletal problems. We also treat adults with residual deformities or functional deficits from childhood pathology.
The ChildBones.com website is designed to educate our patients and/or their families as well as assist them in seeking treatment. Our desire is that the website will improve access to our treatment team both by patients and referring healthcare providers. In addition, we hope that patients and/or families will keep coming back to ChildBones.com for pediatric orthopedic information. If our website can also provide useful information to patients not in our practice area, we are delighted! Please do not make treatment decisions without consulting personally with a physician.
We hope your experience here at ChildBones.com is enjoyable and informative, whether you see us at the office or only "virtually."
Quick Links
Common pediatric orthopedic problems:
Scoliosis
Scoliosis is a sideways curve of the spine. The x-ray to the left would show a perfectly straight spine if it were normal. The deformity can occur in association with other problems like cerebral palsy and muscular dystrophy. It can also be present from birth with congenital vertebral anomalies. The most common form, however occurs without nown cause during the adolescent growth spurt. Depending on the situation, the treatment may be obseervation, brace wear or surgery.
Knock knees (genu valgum)
Knock knees or genu valgum is a deformity in which there is space between the ankles when the knees are touching. It is normal in children age 4 years old, but should be gone by the age of 8-10 years. This problem does not have to be fixed, but if the patient wants to have straight legs, there is a simple operation to correct it before growth stops. After the end of growth the operative treatment for genu valgum is osteotomy (cutting the bone). It is important to know that the deformity will not correct on its own if it exists past the age of 10 years.
