Robert B. Carrigan, MD

Robert B. Carrigan, MD, is an orthopaedic surgeon at who specializes in the treatment of upper extremity conditions in children.

While Dr. Carrigan treats a broad array of conditions in the upper extremity, his clinical and research interest are in the treatment of complex elbow conditions in children. These conditions include both acute and chronic injuries, malunions (crooked arms), elbow instability, congenital conditions, stiff elbows, as well as nerve and vessel injuries about the elbow.

In addition to complex elbow problems, Dr. Carrigan also cares for infants and toddlers with congenital hand conditions, pediatric upper extremity fractures and children with cerebral palsy involving the upper limb.

Dr. Carrigan has been an invited speaker at national and international meetings. He actively serves on several committees within the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), the American Society for the Surgery of the Hand (ASSH) and the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America (POSNA).

Dr. Carrigan has authored numerous scientific articles and book chapters focusing on the safe and effective care of the upper extremity in children. Recently, Dr. Carrigan and his colleagues examined national trends in complication rates involving upper extremity surgery in children in an attempt to better understand and prevent surgical complications for children undergoing surgery of the upper extremity.  Recently, he and his colleagues at the AAOS published national guidelines for the safe and effective management of pediatric supracondylar humerus fractures.

In 2015, Dr. Carrigan and other surgeons at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia performed the first bilateral pediatric hand transplant. The Hand Transplantation Program aims to help children who have undergone unilateral or bilateral amputation of arms or hands to regain function and independence. Hand transplantation, or vascularized composite allo-transplantation, is a rare procedure performed by only a few surgical teams around the world.

A native of Pennsylvania, Dr. Carrigan received his entire education within the state. He earned an undergraduate degree in biochemistry from the Pennsylvania State University and a medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Carrigan completed his orthopaedic surgery residency and fellowship in hand surgery, at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

When not caring for children with upper extremity conditions, Dr. Carrigan enjoys picking Legos ™ off the dining room floor with his wife and three children.