Richard S. Davidson, MD

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Richard S. Davidson, MD, is an attending pediatric orthopaedic surgeon at Children's Hospital with a focus on limb deformities, foot disorders and hip diseases.

Areas of Expertise: Arthrogryposis, clubfoot (Ponseti method), skew foot, vertical talus, tarsal coalition, Foot and ankle, Hip diseases, Limb deficiencies, Limb deformity, proximal femur focal deficiency, tibia hemimelia, fibular hemimelia, fractures of the lower extremity, slipped capital femoral epiphysis, Legg Perthes, developmental dysplasia of the hip, Spina Bifida, Limb lengthening, Foot deformities
Locations: Main Hospital; Buerger Center for Advanced Pediatric Care; Specialty Care, King of Prussia; Middleman Family Pavilion

Appointments, Referrals and Video Visits: 215-590-1527


Background

Richard S. Davidson, MD, is a pediatric orthopaedic surgeon at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and a professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Davidson has worked at CHOP since 1982, and also serves as a pediatric orthopaedic surgeon at the Shriners Hospitals for Children, Philadelphia.

Dr. Davidson is a member of many national and local societies, including the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society, and is past president of the Limb Lengthening and Reconstruction Society. 

Dr. Davidson takes special interest in both research and clinical care in the correction of limb deformities and limb-length inequalities due to femoral, tibial and fibular dysplasias; growth injuries and disturbances; congenital malformations; fracture malunions and nonunions; congenital nonunions; Blounts disease; genu varus and valgus; and rickets, among other illnesses and syndromes.

Dr. Davidson is also intensively involved in the treatment of congenital and acquired deformities of the foot and ankle, including clubfoot (Ponseti and other methods), skew foot, vertical talus, tarsal coalition, Hallux valgus, painful flat foot, spina bifida and other deformities.

A graduate of New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, Dr. Davidson completed an internship and residency in general surgery at Bellevue Hospital, New York, NY, and a residency in orthopaedic surgery at the Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, NY. He also completed a pediatric orthopaedics fellowship at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada.

Dr. Davidson has published and lectured widely around the world. He has also authored and coauthored numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals and chapters in textbooks.

Education and Training

Medical School

MD — New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY

Internship

General Surgery — New York University and Bellevue Hospitals, New York, NY

Residency

General Surgery — New York University and Bellevue Hospitals, New York, NY
Orthopaedic Surgery — The Hospital for Special Surgery, Cornell University, New York, NY

Fellowship

Pediatric Orthopaedics — Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada

Board Certification

Orthopaedic Surgery – American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery

Undergraduate Degree

BA — Columbia University, New York, NY

Titles and Academic Titles

Attending Orthopaedic Surgeon

Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

Conditions Treated

Departments and Services

Research Interests

  • Double tibial osteotomy with Ilizarov external fixation for treatment of infantile Blount's tibia vara
  • McFarland bypass bone graft in the treatment of anterolateral bowing of the tibia (pre-pseudarthrosis of the tibia), a two- to 10-year follow-up
  • Intertrochanteric osteotomy with mono-lateral external fixation to treat severe deformity of slipped capital femoral epiphysis
  • Retrospective review (60 cases) of gradual correction of adolescent Blount's deformity with hinged external fixators
  • Tarsal tunnel syndrome associated with pes valgus in adolescents
  • Pinning of slipped capital femoral epiphysis 
  • Salvage procedures for the management of residual and recurrent deformities in the older child with club foot
  • Avascular necrosis in second-side acute unstable slipped capital femoral epiphysis
  • Treatment of combined tarsal coalition and severe pes valgus

Publications

Papers

2013

Davidson, RS. MRI Evaluation of the Knee in Patients with Infantile Blount Disease: Tibial and Extra Tibial Findings. Pediatric Radiology, March 2013.

Muhly, W, Gurnancy, H, Hosalkar, H, Kraemer, F, Davidson, RS, Ganesh, A. Continuous perineural infusion after lower extremity osteotomies in children: a feasibility and safety analysis. British Journal of Anaesthesia 2013 110 (5): 851-852.

2011

Davidson, RS. The MAC (Multi-Axial Correcting) Monolateral External Fixation System (Biomet/EBI) Technique: An Easier Way to Correct Deformity; Operative Techniques in Orthopaedics, Volume 21(2), 113-124, June 2011.

Flynn, JM, Garner, MR, Jones, KJ, D’Italia, J, Davidson, RS, Ganley, TJ, Horn, BD, Spiegel, D, Wells, L. The Treatment of Low-Energy Femoral Shaft Fractures: A Prospective Study Comparing The “Walking Spica” with the Traditional Spica Cast. J Bone Joint Surg AM 93A(23): 2196-2202, December 2011.

2010

Horn, BD, Davidson, RS. Current treatment of clubfoot in infancy and childhood. Foot Ankle Clin. 2010 Jun;15(2): 235-43.

Smith JR, Davidson RS: Bowing of the right lower leg in a 6 month old infant. JAAA 23(2): 69-71, February 2010 .

Wells, L; Avery, A; Hosalkar, H; Friedman, J; and Davidson, RS. Cast Wedging: A “Forgotten” Yet Predictable Method for Correcting Fracture Deformity: The University of Pennsylvania Orthopaedic Journal, 20: 113-116, Spring, 2010.

2009

Arkader, A, Davidson, RS. Cross-hip X-ray view for proximal femoral osteotomies. AM J Orthop (Belle Mead NJ) 29(7): 306-307, June 2009.

Clark, SE, McCarthy, JJ, Davidson, RS. Treatment of Blount Disease: A comparison between the multi-axial correction system and other external fixators. J.Pediatr Orthop. 29(2): 103-109, March 2009.

McCarthy, JJ, MacIntyre, NR 3rd, Hooks, B, Davidson, RS. Double osteotomy for the treatment of severe Blount disease. J. Pediatr Orthop 29(2):115-119, March 2009.

McCarthy, JJ, Kozin, SH, Tuohy, C, Cheung, E, Davidson, RS, Noonan, K. External fixation and centralization versus external fixation and ulnar osteotomy; the treatment of radial dysplasia using the resolved total angle of deformity. J. Pediatr Orthop 29(7): 797-803, Oct-Nov, 2009.

Ranade, A, McCarthy, JJ, Davidson, RS. Angular deformity in pediatric trans tibial amputation stumps. J Pediatr Orthop. 2009 Oct-Nov;29(7): 726-9.

Tuohy, C, McCarthy, JJ, Kozin, SH, Cheung, E, Davidson, RS: Comparison of preliminary external fixation versus ulnar osteotomy with external fixation for the treatment of radial dysplasia using the resolved (3-D) total angle of deformity measurement. Temple University of Orthopaedics Journal 7: 797-803, Oct/Nov, 2009.

Awards and Honors

2022, Philadelphia Magazine's Top Doctors in Orthopaedic Surgery

Editorial and Academic Positions

  • Associate Editor, Foot & Ankle, International (1989-present)
  • Reviewer, Advances in Orthopaedic Society (1990-1993)
  • Reviewer, Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research (1993-present)
  • Guest Editor, Foot and Ankle Clinics: Pediatric Orthopaedic Problems of the Foot and Ankle (1998)
  • Editorial Board, Children’s Doctor, a publication of the Doctors of The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (1996-present)
  • Consultant Reviewer, Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics (2006)