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| Clubfoot Treated by Dr. Dobbs and The St. Louis Shrine System |
Clubfoot specialist Dr. Dobbs and the St. Louis Shrine
system is quickly gaining in popularity as an alternative to
traveling to Iowa City to see Dr. Ponseti. As the Ponseti
method gains attention, parents need more options, and
often need financial assistance to get their child's clubfoot
corrected properly. This makes Dr. Dobbs and the St.
Louis Shrine an excellent choice.
The Shrine Hospitals will treat children free of charge, regardless of a parent's
income. Now I will say if you are one of the rare individuals who is independently
wealthy or has better than average health insurance to cover medical bills,
perhaps you should not burden the Shrine system with added expenses, but if you
are like most of us either un- or under-insured, then the Shrine will be your
blessing.
After seven years of traveling to Iowa City to see Dr. Ponseti for my three sons
who have bilateral clubfoot, recently I decided to take my nine year old son, Brian,
up to St. Louis to consult with Dr. Dobbs. I have received a little criticism for this
decision, after all if Dr. Ponseti is "the master" why would I go see a "lesser man"?
The reason is that Brian did not have the Ponseti Method treatment from birth and
has continued to suffer complications from that. Dr. Dobbs and others are
breaking ground in treating older children. I went to pick his brain.
The St. Louis Shrine system is excellent. Through a system of mutual cooperation
between Shrines in other states, the St. Louis Shrine is able to arrange everything
you may need, including transportation and lodging when you travel to see Dr.
Dobbs. The Morocco Shrine in Jacksonville Florida provided our
transportation, which was no small thing flying myself and three children nearly
900 miles and back. They also paid for our room at the Haven House. In St.
Louis the Shrine Hospital provided the clubfoot check up my two younger boys
needed; is providing my youngest with the new foot abduction brace he needs,
and will be providing my oldest with a surgery he now needs to get his feet lined
up under his legs to prevent future, worsening handicap.
While in St. Louis, the Shrine provided us with transportation from the airport to
the Haven House. The HH shuttle took us to the hospital, but the Shrine supplied
us with a ride back; the next day the Shrine picked us up and drove us back to the
airport for our flight home. Once back in Jacksonville, FL, the Shrine further
drove us the two hours from the airport to our home. The logistics of all this
boggle my mind, as does the generosity involved, yet we were treated like royalty
and everything was arranged for us. All we had to do was go.
My Shrine-provided rides were always on time, polite, helpful... and they provided
car seats so I didn't have to carry mine with me on the airplane. All the staff at
the Shrine hospital were the same - friendly, patient with my three boys and
generous. Before we had left the exam room, the ladies at the Shrine had already
set us up for future flights back to St. Louis to get Brian's surgery and future
check ups for all three toys. Their swift action was amazing!
There is no reason for your child to suffer the perils of substandard clubfoot
treatment when such an alternative exists for you. However, not all Shrine
hospitals offer the Ponseti Method, so do not assume any Shrine will be able to
provide the same excellent treatment.
Below are the addresses and contact information for Dr. Dobbs at both Children's
Hospital and the Shrine Hospital, and below that, the contact for Kristina Porter,
who can get the ball rolling to help you get to St. Louis to see Dr. Dobbs.
Matthew Dobbs, MD
St. Louis Children's Hospital
Suite 420
One Children's Place
St. Louis, MO 63110
Tel: 314.454.4192
Matthew Dobbs, MD
Shriners Hospitals for Children
St. Louis Unit
2001 S. Lindbergh Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63131-3597
Tel: 314.432.3600
Fax: 314.872.7808
Email: dobbsm@wudosis.wustl.edu
Kristina Porter RN BSN
Care Coordinator
Shriners Hospital
2001 S Lindbergh Blvd.
St Louis, Mo.
Office: (314) 872-8342 ext. 1273
Fax: (314) 872-8309
Pager: (314) 538-8661
system is quickly gaining in popularity as an alternative to
traveling to Iowa City to see Dr. Ponseti. As the Ponseti
method gains attention, parents need more options, and
often need financial assistance to get their child's clubfoot
corrected properly. This makes Dr. Dobbs and the St.
Louis Shrine an excellent choice.
The Shrine Hospitals will treat children free of charge, regardless of a parent's
income. Now I will say if you are one of the rare individuals who is independently
wealthy or has better than average health insurance to cover medical bills,
perhaps you should not burden the Shrine system with added expenses, but if you
are like most of us either un- or under-insured, then the Shrine will be your
blessing.
After seven years of traveling to Iowa City to see Dr. Ponseti for my three sons
who have bilateral clubfoot, recently I decided to take my nine year old son, Brian,
up to St. Louis to consult with Dr. Dobbs. I have received a little criticism for this
decision, after all if Dr. Ponseti is "the master" why would I go see a "lesser man"?
The reason is that Brian did not have the Ponseti Method treatment from birth and
has continued to suffer complications from that. Dr. Dobbs and others are
breaking ground in treating older children. I went to pick his brain.
- There is no reason for your child to suffer the perils of
substandard clubfoot treatment when such an
alternative exists for you. However, not all Shrine
hospitals offer the Ponseti Method, so do not assume
any Shrine will be able to provide the same excellent
(Ponseti Method) treatment.
The St. Louis Shrine system is excellent. Through a system of mutual cooperation
between Shrines in other states, the St. Louis Shrine is able to arrange everything
you may need, including transportation and lodging when you travel to see Dr.
Dobbs. The Morocco Shrine in Jacksonville Florida provided our
transportation, which was no small thing flying myself and three children nearly
900 miles and back. They also paid for our room at the Haven House. In St.
Louis the Shrine Hospital provided the clubfoot check up my two younger boys
needed; is providing my youngest with the new foot abduction brace he needs,
and will be providing my oldest with a surgery he now needs to get his feet lined
up under his legs to prevent future, worsening handicap.
While in St. Louis, the Shrine provided us with transportation from the airport to
the Haven House. The HH shuttle took us to the hospital, but the Shrine supplied
us with a ride back; the next day the Shrine picked us up and drove us back to the
airport for our flight home. Once back in Jacksonville, FL, the Shrine further
drove us the two hours from the airport to our home. The logistics of all this
boggle my mind, as does the generosity involved, yet we were treated like royalty
and everything was arranged for us. All we had to do was go.
My Shrine-provided rides were always on time, polite, helpful... and they provided
car seats so I didn't have to carry mine with me on the airplane. All the staff at
the Shrine hospital were the same - friendly, patient with my three boys and
generous. Before we had left the exam room, the ladies at the Shrine had already
set us up for future flights back to St. Louis to get Brian's surgery and future
check ups for all three toys. Their swift action was amazing!
- Dr. Dobbs worked directly with Dr. Ponseti for nearly
a decade and is what I would consider the Number
Two clubfoot doctor in America, with Dr. Ponseti of
course being number one. He splits his time between
two hospitals in St. Louis, seeing children at the
Shrine on Mondays.
There is no reason for your child to suffer the perils of substandard clubfoot
treatment when such an alternative exists for you. However, not all Shrine
hospitals offer the Ponseti Method, so do not assume any Shrine will be able to
provide the same excellent treatment.
Below are the addresses and contact information for Dr. Dobbs at both Children's
Hospital and the Shrine Hospital, and below that, the contact for Kristina Porter,
who can get the ball rolling to help you get to St. Louis to see Dr. Dobbs.
Matthew Dobbs, MD
St. Louis Children's Hospital
Suite 420
One Children's Place
St. Louis, MO 63110
Tel: 314.454.4192
Matthew Dobbs, MD
Shriners Hospitals for Children
St. Louis Unit
2001 S. Lindbergh Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63131-3597
Tel: 314.432.3600
Fax: 314.872.7808
Email: dobbsm@wudosis.wustl.edu
Kristina Porter RN BSN
Care Coordinator
Shriners Hospital
2001 S Lindbergh Blvd.
St Louis, Mo.
Office: (314) 872-8342 ext. 1273
Fax: (314) 872-8309
Pager: (314) 538-8661
| Learn about the Dobbs Articulating Bar by clicking here. |