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Orthopedics · patient stories

Guided bone growth surgery keeps young athlete in the game

Jacquelynn, successfully pediatric ortho patient story.

15-year-old Jacquelynn K. throws a 57-mile-per-hour fastball. This freshman softball player at Boonton High School has also mastered a changeup and curveball – but only because she underwent an elective leg-stabilizing surgery in sixth grade that kept her in sports.

A troubling pattern of injuries

The youngest of five siblings, Jacquelynn has always been the competitive little sister that just wanted to keep up with the big kids. She played sports from a very young age, but as she grew, it became clear something wasn’t quite right with her legs.  

“We started noticing it when Jacquelynn was seven years old, playing soccer,” says her mom, Melanie. “She was always twisting and spraining her ankles. She even fractured her foot. Injuries just seemed to keep occurring and we were always at the doctor.”

During a visit to Atlantic Health System’s pediatric orthopedist, Barbara Minkowitz, MD, they learned about a guided growth surgery Dr. Minkowitz performs that aligns and stabilizes the ankle joint.

Dr. Minkowitz says, “Jacquelynn had severe instability from misaligned ankle joints that tilted inward. Her bone structure is clinically called genu valgum, commonly known as knock knees.  Jacquelynn’s ligaments were so severely weakened from multiple injuries that, going forward, she would be even more prone to future sprains.”

A decision to take doctor’s advice

And the ankle sprains and strains kept coming. So, two years after learning about Dr. Minkowitz’s guided bone growth procedure, Jacquelynn and Melanie were finally ready to say “yes” to surgery.

“We wanted to do whatever it took to keep Jacquelynn playing the sports she loves,” says Melanie. “Dr. Minkowitz has a great reputation and we trusted her. We knew we were in really good hands.”

Using the natural growth process

Jacquelynn’s surgery took place in 2021 when she was 12 years old. Using four tiny incisions, Dr. Minkowitz anchored a small metal device into Jacquelynn’s growth plate to temporarily slow growth in part of the bone and allow for a gradual correction.

“We were able to redirect bone growth in Jacquelynn’s leg to align and stabilize her ankle joint using her own natural growth process,” says Dr. Minkowitz. “We can correct knock knees, bowlegs, or uneven leg lengths without an overnight hospital stay and with a relatively speedy recovery. These surgeries are typically performed during puberty—between the ages of eight and 13—before a child is fully grown.”

Learning to walk again

Working with physical therapist Alexis DeSa at Atlantic Sports Health in Rockaway, Jacquelynn had to learn how to walk again. With dedication and steady progress, she was soon back in action playing soccer, basketball, and softball. Now, five years later, she still hasn’t sprained an ankle since surgery.

When Jacquelynn graduates from high school, she hopes to play softball in college and go on to become an athletic trainer.  But before all that, she’s got a personal sports goal to achieve. Jacquelynn is on track this year to hit her 100th strike out. And it’s all thanks to a same-day surgery performed by Dr. Minkowitz that has kept her in the game.

Pediatric OrthopedicsRehabilitation & Physical Therapy

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