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Jason James Howard, MD

Orthopaedic Surgeon

ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Children's Hospital, Delaware 1600 Rockland Road Wilmington, DE 19803

Biography

Jason Howard, MD, is a board-certified pediatric neuro-orthopedic surgeon. Prior to joining ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Children's Health in Wilmington, Delaware (formerly Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children), Dr. Howard was the Chief of Orthopedic Surgery and the Director of Clinical Research at Sidra Medicine in Doha, Qatar. He was also Assistant Professor of Orthopedic Surgery, Weill Cornell Medicine, during that tenure. Prior to joining Sidra, Dr. Howard was a full-time Assistant Professor of Surgery in the Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary (Calgary, Canada) and a pediatric orthopedic surgeon at the Alberta Children's Hospital. During his time at the Alberta Children's Hospital, Dr. Howard was the clinical director of the C.H. Riddell Family Movement Assessment Centre (Clinical Gait Laboratory). He was subsequently appointed as Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Medicine, at Dalhousie University (Halifax, Canada) and was a pediatric orthopedic surgeon at the IWK Health Centre until 2014. In February 2014, he accepted a new post in Qatar helping to develop the Orthopedic and Rehabilitation programs for Sidra Medicine. In addition to his medical training, Dr. Howard holds a Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering and graduate studies in Biodesign at Stanford University, focusing on the development of new medical technologies. Dr. Howard is a global thought leader in cerebral palsy and has focused his research on the hip displacement in patients with CP. He has written many peer-reviewed publications and book chapters in this field and has presented at numerous national and international scientific conferences. He is also one of the lead editors of a highly accessed text: ‘The Pediatric and Adolescent Hip: Essentials and Evidence' published by Springer Nature. From a clinical standpoint, Dr. Howard specializes in treating children with cerebral palsy, Spinal Muscular Atrophy, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, and other neuromuscular disorders. Specific areas of interest include neuro-orthopedic deformities including scoliosis, hip displacement, gait analysis, and patient reported outcomes. He has been principal or co-investigator for more than 10 non-industry funded research grants. He is an active member of American Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine, Australian Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine, Canadian Orthopedic Association, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, and the Pediatric Orthopedic Society of North America. Research study groups Dr. Howard is involved in include: CP Hip Outcomes Project (CHOP), Hip HOPE Registry, Pediatric Spine Study Group, and RINO registry (CP Foot Multicenter Study).

Fellowship

  • Orthopedic Surgery - Royal Children's Hospital, 2004
  • Orthopedics - Starship Children Hospital, 2005
  • Ped. Hip Preservation Surgery - University of Bern/Inselspital, 2017

Internship Residency

  • Orthopedic Surgery - University Of Calgary, 2003

Medical/Dental School

  • MD - Memorial Univ of Newfoundland Faculty of Medicine, 1998

Board Certifications

  • American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery

  • Cerebral Palsy
  • Duchenne Muscular Atrophy
  • Neuromuscular Disorders
  • Neuromuscular Scoliosis
  • Spastic Muscle Basic Science
  • Spinal Muscular Atrophy

  • Collagenase treatment decreases muscle stiffness in cerebral palsy: A preclinical ex vivo biomechanical analysis of hip adductor muscle fiber bundles; Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology; (2023).

  • Intrathecal baclofen therapy does not prevent hip displacement in children with cerebral palsy; Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology; (2023).

  • Hip Surveillance and Management of Hip Displacement in Children with Cerebral Palsy: Clinical and Ethical Dilemmas; Journal of Clinical Medicine; (2023).

  • Hip Displacement Does Not Change After Pelvic Obliquity Correction During Spinal Fusion in Children With Cerebral Palsy; Journal of pediatric orthopedics; (2023).

  • Hip Displacement after Triradiate Cartilage Closure in Nonambulatory Cerebral Palsy: Who Needs Continued Radiographic Surveillance?; Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery; (2023).

  • Is Standing Function Improved after Orthopaedic Surgery in Children with Cerebral Palsy at GMFCS Levels III/IV?; Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics; (2023).

  • Understanding skeletal muscle in cerebral palsy: a path to personalized medicine?; Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology; (2022).

  • Body mass index affects outcomes after vertebral body tethering surgery; Spine Deformity; (2022).

  • Does the Addition of Intrathecal Baclofen Along with or After Soft-Tissue Hip Adductor Surgery Decrease the Need for Hip Reconstruction Compared with Soft-Tissue Surgery Alone for Children with Nonambulatory Cerebral Palsy?; Indian Journal of Orthopaedics; (2022).

  • No Difference in the Rates of Unplanned Return to the Operating Room Between Magnetically Controlled Growing Rods and Traditional Growth Friendly Surgery for Children With Cerebral Palsy; Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics; (2022).

  • No difference in postoperative complication rates or cardiopulmonary function for early versus late scoliosis correction in Duchenne muscular dystrophy; Spine Deformity; (2022).

  • Does the presence of programmable implanted devices in patients with early onset scoliosis alter typical operative and postoperative practices? A survey of spine surgeons; Spine Deformity; (2022).

  • Lengthening Behavior of Magnetically Controlled Growing Rods in Early-Onset Scoliosis: A Multicenter Study; Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery; (2022).

  • Walking activity after multilevel orthopedic surgery in children with cerebral palsy; Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology; (2022).

  • Prevalence and Risk Factors Associated with Pelvic Rod/Screw Radiographic Lucency Following Scoliosis Surgery in Spastic Cerebral Palsy: A Longitudinal Study; Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics; (2022).

  • The Effect of Surgeon Experience on Outcomes Following Growth Friendly Instrumentation for Early Onset Scoliosis; Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics; (2022).

  • The influence of tone on proximal femoral and acetabular geometry in neuromuscular hip displacement: A comparison of cerebral palsy and spinal muscular atrophy; Journal of Children's Orthopaedics; (2022).

  • Treatment of a Lisfranc Injury in a 7-Year-Old Boy: Case Report and Surgical Technique; JBJS Case Connector; (2022).

  • Hip Displacement in MECP2 Disorders: Prevalence and Risk Factors; Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics; (2021).

  • Growth-friendly spinal instrumentation in marfan syndrome achieves sustained gains in thoracic height amidst high rates of implant failure; Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics; (2021).

  • Growth-preserving instrumentation in early-onset scoliosis patients with multi-level congenital anomalies; Spine Deformity; (2021).

  • Congenital scoliosis of the pediatric cervical spine: Characterization of a 17-patient operative cohort; Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics; (2021).

  • The impact of scoliosis surgery on pulmonary function in spinal muscular atrophy: a systematic review; Spine Deformity; (2021).

  • Orthopaedic Manifestations of Transverse Myelitis in Children; Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics; (2021).

  • Skeletal Muscle in Cerebral Palsy: From Belly to Myofibril; Frontiers in Neurology; (2021).

  • Well-Being of Ambulatory Adults With Cerebral Palsy: Education, Employment, and Physical Function of a Cohort Who Received Specialized Pediatric Care; Frontiers in Neurology; (2021).

  • The change in sagittal plane gait patterns from childhood to maturity in bilateral cerebral palsy; Gait and Posture; (2021).

  • Pain trajectories following adolescent idiopathic scoliosis correction analysis of predictors and functional outcomes; JBJS Open Access; (2021).

  • The role of traditional growing rods in the era of magnetically controlled growing rods for the treatment of early-onset scoliosis; Spine Deformity; (2021).

  • Stiffness of hip adductor myofibrils is decreased in children with spastic cerebral palsy; Journal of Biomechanics; (2019).

  • Relationship of muscle morphology to hip displacement in cerebral palsy: a pilot study investigating changes intrinsic to the sarcomere; Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research; (2019).

  • Kyphectomy in Myelomeningocele for Severe Early-Onset Kyphosis Using Distal Intravertebral Fixation and Thoracic Growing Rods; Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Global Research and Reviews; (2019).

  • Sarcopenia, cerebral palsy, and botulinum toxin type a; JBJS Reviews; (2019).

  • Intramuscular injection of collagenase clostridium histolyticum may decrease spastic muscle contracture for children with cerebral palsy; Medical Hypotheses; (2019).

  • Comparison of motor-evoked potentials versus somatosensory-evoked potentials as early indicators of neural compromise in rat model of spinal cord compression; Spine; (2017).

  • Robotic-assisted minimally invasive surgery of the spine (RAMISS): a proof-of-concept study using carbon dioxide insufflation for multilevel posterior vertebral exposure via a sub-paraspinal muscle working space; International Journal of Medical Robotics and Computer Assisted Surgery; (2017).

  • Balancing innovation and medical device regulation: The case of modern metal-on-metal hip replacements; Medical Devices: Evidence and Research; (2016).

  • QUESTION 2: What is the predictive value of an antenatal ultrasound showing apparently isolated talipes equinovarus?; Archives of Disease in Childhood; (2016).

  • Treatment of flexion-Type supracondylar fractures in children: The 'push-pull' method for closed reduction and percutaneous K-wire fixation; Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics Part B; (2016).

  • Validity of Transcranial Motor Evoked Potentials as Early Indicators of Neural Compromise in Rat Model of Spinal Cord Compression; Spine; (2015).

  • Comparison of cast materials for the treatment of congenital idiopathic clubfoot using the Ponseti method: A prospective randomized controlled trial; Canadian Journal of Surgery; (2014).

  • Medical devices and the Middle East: Market, regulation, and reimbursement in Gulf Cooperation Council states; Medical Devices: Evidence and Research; (2014).

  • Sagittal spinopelvic parameters of young children with scoliosis; Spine Deformity; (2013).

  • Nerve blocks for initial pain management of femoral fractures in children; Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews; (2013).

  • The effectiveness of scoliosis screening programs: Methods for systematic review and expert panel recommendations formulation; Scoliosis; (2013).

  • Validity of somatosensory evoked potentials as early indicators of neural compromise in rat model of spinal cord compression; Clinical Neurophysiology; (2013).

  • Thoracic myelopathy secondary to seizure following scoliosis surgery; Journal of Child Neurology; (2012).

  • Deep wound infection following pediatric scoliosis surgery: Incidence and analysis of risk factors; Canadian Journal of Surgery; (2011).

  • Perioperative blood transfusion requirements in pediatric scoliosis surgery: The efficacy of tranexamic acid; Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics; (2009).

  • Femoral fractures in children younger than three years: The role of nonaccidental injury; Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics; (2008).

  • Hip displacement in cerebral palsy; Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery; (2006).

  • Cerebral palsy in Victoria: Motor types, topography and gross motor function; Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health; (2005).

  • Posterolateral dislocation of the C1-C2 articulation associated with fracture of the anterior arch of C1: a case report.; Spine; (2004).