Lurie Children’s has one of the largest highly skilled teams of orthotists (brace-makers) and prosthetists (artificial limb-makers) in a freestanding children’s hospital in the Midwest. The team in the Orthotics and Prosthetics Department is onsite with a laboratory, and ready to create customized, state-of-the-art orthoses (braces) and prostheses (artificial limbs) for your newborn, infant, young child, pre-teen or teenager. Our orthotic and prosthetic specialists come to the table with broad expertise and versatility to care for children of different shapes and sizes, with varying health conditions and physical needs. As experienced technicians and clinicians, they work wonders by combining science with creative and innovative design.
Our orthotics program is named after Moira Tobin Wickes, a certified orthotist, who dedicated her life to children and healing. She started our orthotics program with serial casting, built the program as our director and worked with Lurie Children’s for 25 years.
We are an accredited facility in good standing by the American Board for Certification in Orthotics, Prosthetics & Pedorthics; a member of the American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association; and accredited as a residency training site by the National Commission on Orthotic and Prosthetic Education.
We support a broad range of pediatric conditions and work collaboratively with doctors, nurses and therapists from many disciplines.
View A ListIf you’d like to request an appointment with one of our specialists, call 1.800.543.7362 (1.800.KIDS DOC®). You can also call our office at 312.227.6210. Our fax number is 312.227.9429.
Typically evaluations last no more than one hour and most procedures are non-invasive. Please have your child wear clothing (or bring clothing to change into) that allows for full evaluation of the involved body part(s):
If your child uses adaptive equipment (e.g., crutches, walker or wheelchair) for mobility, please bring it with you for the evaluation.
Spinal evaluations require current x-rays. If your x-rays have been taken outside of the Lurie Children's network, then please bring these with you to the evaluation.
Learn about our Culture of Care for information about your upcoming visit and the services we offer, including:
We offer an orthotics residency program to help develop leading future practitioners.
Your support is vital in helping us continue to make a difference in the lives of patients and families. Lurie Children’s relies on philanthropic funding to enhance its programs, services and research for children. To learn more, please e-mail the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago Foundation at foundation@luriechildrens.org or call 312.227.7500.
