Recurrent Clubfoot Deformity Treatment | Dr. Matthew Dobbs

Matthew Dobbs, MD, FACS is director of the Dobbs Clubfoot Center at the Paley Institute in West Palm Beach, Florida. Prior to that he was the Dr. Asa C. and Mrs. Dorothy W. Jones Professor of Orthopedic Surgery and the Director of Strategic Planning at Washington University School of Medicine. He also co-directed an NIH funded musculoskeletal genetics research laboratory and was founder (2001) and director of the clubfoot clinic at Saint Louis Children’s from 2001-2020. He has been named a top orthopedic surgeon by US News & World Report, Top Doctors, Castle Connelly, Consumers' Research Council, Orthopedics This Week, the International Association of Orthopedic Surgeons, and St. Louis Magazine. He has been featured in the Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, and the LA Times. He is internationally recognized for his expertise and innovation in the field of pediatric foot and lower limb deformities as well as in the management of patients with cerebral palsy spasticity.

Dr. Dobbs trained under the guidance of Professor Ignacio Ponseti (Ponseti method). Since that time, he has introduced the Ponseti method for clubfoot management to surgeons in more than 50 countries. He has established a “train the trainers” program for clubfoot management where key thought leaders from different countries are identified and brought to him for intense training in the method so that they are then empowered to return home and train other surgeons in their own country. Patients travel to see Dr. Dobbs from all 50 states and from more than 65 countries over six continents (North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia).

Dr. Dobbs is an innovator in minimally invasive surgery for congenital and developmental foot and lower extremity deformities as well as torticollis. (e.g. congenital vertical talus, congenital knee dislocation, nail-patella syndrome, congenital muscular torticollis, and lower extremity tendon lengthening in patients with cerebral palsy spasticity). His technique to treat congenital vertical talus, a severe rigid flatfoot deformity present at birth, for example, has revolutionized the treatment of vertical talus and is now being utilized successfully across the world. Much like the Ponseti method for clubfoot treatment, the Dobbs method for vertical talus correction relies on gentle manipulation of the foot followed by serial casting, a small surgical procedure, and bracing to provide full correction and avoid more extensive surgery. By avoiding more extensive surgery, the child’s foot flexibility is maintained while the child grows. This leads to excellent correction and maintenance of foot flexibility long-term.

His multi-disciplinary approach to congenital muscular torticollis relies on careful and accurate diagnosis, followed by specific physical therapy, bracing, and botulinum toxin injections. The technique allows the avoidance of surgery in most young patients. He developed a serial casting technique for congenital knee dislocation which provides excellent correction without the complications of major surgical intervention.

He has partnered with a neurosurgeon to provide a unique approach to patients with cerebral palsy spasticity. After spasticity is removed through a neurological procedure called selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR), Dr. Dobbs performs percutaneous tendon lengthening for lower extremity contractures. This management strategy allows early return to ambulation and improved gait and function long-term.

Dr. Dobbs also developed a brace to maintain clubfoot correction. The brace, which bears his name, is utilized in over 50 countries and has helped thousands of clubfoot patients avoid relapse and the need for further intervention.

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