Why did you choose to begin your practice at
Shriners Hospitals for Children — Los Angeles?
My goal as a pediatric orthopaedic spinal surgeon is to
provide the best care possible to every child and family.
The mission of Shriners Hospitals for Children – to treat
children regardless of race, creed, national origin or
ability to pay – is very important to me. It gives me the
ability to provide world-class care to any child who needs
it. I am proud of our efforts in Los Angeles to continue
We see everything from scoliosis referrals from school
screenings to complex congenital scoliosis. The number
of cases we see continues to grow.
Los Angeles
Pediatric orthopaedic surgery appealed to me because
I wanted to help people regain function and mobility.
I had great mentors who are true masters as surgeons,
both in the operating room and the outpatient clinic.
Orthopaedic surgeons Randal Betz, M.D., and Peter
Pizzutillo, M.D., are both experts in spinal injury
medicine. They influenced why I wanted to make
treating children with scoliosis my life’s work.
What types of scoliosis cases do you
frequently see?
Research
What made you pursue a career path in
pediatric orthopaedics?
this mission, and am thankful for the generosity of the
Shriners and our donors that allows me to do this.
Education
Robert H. Cho, M.D., is an orthopaedic spinal surgeon
at Shriners Hospitals for Children® — Los Angeles. He
joined the team in 2010; his clinical specialties include
scoliosis and hip deformities. Dr. Cho completed
medical school and his residency at Drexel University
in Philadelphia. He completed his fellowship in
pediatric orthopaedic surgery and scoliosis at the
University of California San Diego School of Medicine
and Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego.
care
Left: Robert H. Cho, M.D., orthopaedic spinal surgeon at Shriners Hospitals
for Children — Los Angeles
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Meet Our Doctors:
Robert H. Cho, M.D.
Can you point to any warning signs for parents
whose children are at risk for scoliosis?
Any child who is noted to have a prominence in the back or a
shift in spinal alignment can be referred to our clinic. Problems
with walking, coordination, bowel or bladder changes, severe
back pain with shooting pains into the legs, or numbness and
tingling of the legs that does not resolve spontaneously should
be seen in the emergency room right away.
Can you describe how you use telemedicine in
your practice?
Telemedicine allows us to see more patients over a greater
distance. It is a wonderful screening tool, and it works well
for postoperative surveillance of patients from far away.
Leaders in Research
Shriners Hospitals for Children has
been a leader in clinical research for
decades. To see our research in action, go to
shrinershospitalsforchildren.org and click “Research.”
Scoliosis: Before-and-After
by Robert H. Cho, M.D.
This is an example of a typical scoliosis case that we see at Shriners Hospitals for Children
— Los Angeles. The 10-year-old patient came to us with severe curvature of the spine. She
has neurofibromatosis type 1, a disease process that is one of the most common single
gene mutations in humans. It causes nerve and collagen balls called neurofibromas to form
in the body. If the neurofibromas form in places such as the spine, they can cause severe
scoliosis. We decided to operate on the patient last year, and got excellent results.
shrinershospitalsforchildren.org
Summer 2012
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