Christopher Iobst, M.D. Leads New Limb Center

He gets to be the first leader at a newly-established facility! Christopher Iobst, M.D., the former director of orthopedic research at Nemours Children’s Hospital, is now director of the Center for Limb Lengthening and Reconstruction at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, as well as associate professor of Orthopedic Surgery at the Ohio State University College of Medicine.

The Center for Limb Lengthening and Reconstruction will focus on providing families with a range of available surgical and non-surgical options to address congenital, developmental, and traumatic limb deformity and limb-length discrepancies. State of the art techniques, such as minimally invasive corrective surgery and the use of magnetic lengthening implants, will be available to help a child gain maximum functionality and confidence. The Center will also be involved in research, looking for innovative new methods of treating children with limb deformity.

“I am very proud to be part of Nationwide Children’s Hospital, and to be leading this new center that focuses on such important issues, ” said Dr. Iobst. “While we still may not know what causes certain limb deformities, we are constantly innovating new and improved ways of managing them. I am looking forward to being a part of the Nationwide Orthopaedic Surgery team here in Columbus.”

“Dr. Iobst’s expertise in limb lengthening and reconstruction will be an enormous asset to our Orthopaedics department and will elevate the care of a very complex group of patients from around the country. His multidisciplinary approach and outcome based surgical interventions will continue to push Nationwide Children’s to the forefront of pediatric orthopaedic care, ” says Kevin Klingele, M.D., chief of orthopaedics at Nationwide Children’s.

Dr. Iobst has been an invited speaker at national conferences on external fixation and limb deformity and has written numerous articles and book chapters. He is active on the board of the Limb Lengthening and Reconstruction Society, a member of the Pediatric Surgeons of North America organization, and he is certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery.

Dr. Iobst earned his bachelor’s degree at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, and his medical degree at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta. He completed a residency in orthopedic surgery at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, and a fellowship in pediatric orthopedics in the Harvard Combined Orthopaedic Surgery Program at Boston Children’s Hospital.

Dr. Iobst told OTW, “I am excited to see the Limb Lengthening and Reconstruction Center become a reality. We have been working hard to build a comprehensive center for children and adults that will be state of the art in terms of patient care, surgical techniques, education and research. It takes a large team of people to provide the excellent care we expect for our patients and it is energizing to see that team begin to take shape. Nationwide Children’s Hospital has amazing resources at its disposal which will help to make this center exceptional.”

“We are already scheduling pediatric patients for surgery and developing our team at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. We are in the process of getting the adult part of the practice up and running at Ohio State. New research studies are getting started and there are plans for an educational conference to teach these techniques to other interested surgeons.”