Theresa E. Rattey, M.D.

Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery

Dr. Rattey

Dr. Theresa Rattey is a Pediatric Orthopedic Surgeon practicing with the Orthopedic Center of Palm Beach Florida. She specializes in the treatment of children with Orthopedic problem of the spine and extremities. Dr. Rattey has been in practice in Florida since October 1995. Her pre-med university and medical school were at Ottawa University, and her internship was at The Civic Hospital in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. She did her fellowship in pediatric Orthopedics for one year at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Ontario, Canada finishing in July of 1993. Since then, she has been specializing in the treatment of children only with orthopedic problems. She practiced for two years at the I. W. K. Children's Hospital in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada prior to moving to Florida. Presently, she is on staff at Bethesda Memorial Hospital and Bethesda Health City Outpatient Surgery Center.

Tip of the Month for Parents

What is an "overuse injury" and how is it treated?

An overuse injury is an injury related to over using the arm or leg. Different areas are involved related to the type of sport. Pitchers can get "Little League Elbow" or "throwers shoulder". Basketball players can get "Jumpers Knee". Sever's is related to too much running on hard surfaces. The body of a child can not take too much stress or use if they are growing. The body chooses to grow instead of fixing minor aches and pains. The principle of treatment involves rest, ice, cross training and different types of immobilization. Failing to treat overuse injuries can lead to permanent disabilities. The child should not be advised to put up with the pain and continue playing.

What things can I do to prevent injuries?

Some examples include:

Never let your child get on a trampoline with anyone else. More than one person on a trampoline causes the smaller children to get bounced too high and land hard or off balance. Someone else could also land on the child's arm or leg causing a fracture. Even the safety nets do not prevent all injuries.
Wrist fractures are 90% of the injuries related to roller skating, heelie's, rip sticks or inline skating. The wrist or arm fracture rate can be 99.5% decreased with the use of wrist guards.
Are slides dangerous? Holding a child/infant between your legs and going down the slide can lead to tibial fractures in the child who is wearing shoes or sneakers. I have seen this recently with the new slides being made of plastic and having a U shape. The shoe gets caught on the side of the slide and the leg gets twisted as they go down.
What is a "pulled elbow" or "nursemaids elbow"? If you are holding a child (< 5 years old) by their hand and then suddenly pull on the arm, a ligament around the radial head gets pulled out of place and then the child has elbow pain, holds their arm by the side and won't turn the forearm. This has to be reduced right away to relieve the pain. Some times the ligament will reduce itself while getting an x-ray. Once it is reduced, the pain goes away within 15-20 minutes. The pediatrician, Emergency doctor, Pediatric Orthopedic surgeon can reduce this usually quite easily and the parent can be taught how to do it. If the pain does not go away, there may be something else wrong.

Events

Upcoming Lectures from Our Very Own Doctors Here at OCPBC

Dr. Jeffery Rosenfield

Topic:

"From the Top of Your Shoulder to the Tips of your Fingers...

and all the problems in between"

Tuesday,

July 26, 2011

6:00pm

Held At:

JFK Medical Center

Kennedy Conference Center

5301 S. Congress Ave

Atlantis, FL

Free valet parking available

Refreshments served

(John Hornberger, CEO of the Orthopedic Center of Palm Beach County; Dr. Marc Matarazzo, Sports Medicine and Orthopedic Surgeon of OCPBC; Dr. James Clancy, Reconstructive Foot & Ankle Surgeon of OCPBC; Dr. Ross Cohen, Urologist. )

Golf Tourney Benefits County Safety Council

The 13th annual RIMS Classic Golf Tournament was held on May 7th a the Abacoa Golf Club in Jupiter. The tournament was hosted by the Risk Insurance Management Society.The Safety Council of Palm Beach County Inc. is the main beneficiary. The council uses the funds from the event to maintain community programs. Two programs are Childsaver, which provides child safety seats along with training on their safe installation, and the Behind the Wheel Driver Education program for teens.

OCPBC attends the

Palms West Surgicenter 3rd Annual Pediatric Health Fair.