Pediatric orthopedic surgeon Jason Anari, MD, specializes in spine disorders in children. Dr. Anari has a special interest in early onset scoliosis treatment including VEPTR and magnetic growing rods; adolescent idiopathic and infantile idiopathic scoliosis; chest wall deformities; and fractures and pediatric trauma.
Transcript
Meet Your Doctor: Jason Anari, Orthopaedic Surgeon
Jason Anari, MD: Hello! What's up bud, how are you?
I went to college to study math and science because I was really curious behind how things work on a molecular level. And while I was at school, I fell in love with the biology of disease. So figuring out why people get sick and how you could solve problems is really what drew me to medicine.
The reason I chose kids with early-onset scoliosis and chest wall deformity as the area of my expertise is because that's a patient population that needs a lot of help. They're very sick, and I think you can make a marked improvement in their quality of life by taking care of them. These are kids that are on ventilators, that with a certain types of operations, you get off the ventilator and allow them to play and be kids. So, I think there's a huge area where you can make a big difference in a child's life, and I think that's a great area to practice medicine.
The other part of orthopaedics that I love is fracture care. And I've always enjoyed putting puzzles back together, and I feel like fixing fractures is similar to a thousand-piece puzzle in the fact that you have to get each individual piece exactly where it belongs. The reason that the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is special is because it's more than just the surgeon; it's multidisciplinary care of every subspecialty that you could imagine. And the thing that I love about working here is if I ever have a question, there's someone here who's an expert in it and can give me an answer. That team approach is something that you only get it a couple of places around the world, and CHOP is one of them.
I would want a parent of a potential patient of mine to know that I'm going to be very honest with them. I'm going to tell them exactly how I see it and not hide anything. I want them to know that they can ask me anything; we should have a very candid conversation about the route of care we're going to provide their child with, and they should know that I am as concerned about their child's future as they are, and we should work together as a team.
To be able to offer a family hope is something that I think is a very special feeling. There's something special about taking care of children. They really want to play with their brothers and sisters in the family room or get back out on the soccer or football field or go back to school and be with their friends in the classroom. And seeing that type of enthusiasm about getting better is something that is I think unique to pediatrics and it's a refreshing part of my day, every day.
Related Centers and Programs: Division of Orthopaedics, Wyss/Campbell Center for Thoracic Insufficiency Syndrome , Spine Program