Orthopaedics

The Paediatric Orthopaedic Unit at Monash Children’s Hospital provides services for children with orthopaedic problems or complex fractures requiring specialist opinion. Our expert team cares for children with trauma-related injuries, neuromuscular conditions, musculoskeletal disorders and congenital disorders, and we perform about 1200 orthopaedic surgery procedures annually.

The unit is one of four specialist paediatric orthopaedic units in Victoria and services the state’s eastern regions as well as Tasmania and southern New South Wales.

The unit is part of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Victorian Paediatric Orthopaedic Network, a state coordinated paediatric orthopaedic service. This network aims to improve communication between specialist providers and referrers such as general practitioners.

Our unit provides ‘level four’ paediatric orthopaedic services defined as comprehensive primary, secondary and tertiary specialist paediatric orthopaedic services for emergency and elective patients.

Our team

The paediatric orthopaedic team is also comprised of doctors, physiotherapists and paediatric orthopaedic case manager Paul Ferrier.

Fact sheets 

Orthopaedic fact sheets for families can be downloaded from the Victorian Paediatric Orthopaedic Network link including:

• Back:
  Good posture and care of the spine

• Shoulder:
  Collarbone (clavicle) fracture

• Arm:
  Plaster care: arm

• Elbow:
  Elbow fracture (supracondylar) undisplaced
  Elbow fracture (supracondylar) Displaced

• Wrist:
  Wrist fractures
  Wrist fracture: Buckle injuries

• Hip:
  Safe wrapping for Developmental Dysplasia of the Hips (DDH)
  Brace treatment for Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip (DDH)
  Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip (DDH)

• Leg
  Plaster care: leg
  Care after removal of a plaster: leg

• Knee
  Osgood-Schlatter-disease
  Bow legs and knock knees in children
  Intoeing

• Ankle and foot
  Sever’s Disease
  Clubfoot
  Curly toes
  Flat feet
  Intoeing in children
  Metatarsus adductus
  Positional Talipes
  Shoes for young children

We have five orthopaedic outpatient clinics at Monash Children’s Hospital, Clayton. They are:

• Complex care (congenital and acquired developmental orthopaedic conditions)
• Speciality orthopaedics
• Trauma/fracture
• Developmental hip dysplasia
• Club foot

To make an appointment at any of these outpatient clinics call (03) 8572 3004.

Referrals

Secure eReferral by HealthLink is now our preferred method of referral.

Find up-to-date information about how to send a referral to Monash Health Specialist Consulting Clinics on the eReferrals page on our website.

Please ensure all X-ray results/reports are within the last six months. The patient will be seen by a clinician within this specialty.

URGENT referrals: Please contact Paul Ferrier, paediatric orthopaedic case manager on (03) 8572 3832 or contact the paediatric orthopaedic registrar via the switchboard on (03) 8572 3000.

Please see Monash Children’s Hospital referral guidelines. Also available are the guidelines fom the Department of Health.