William Mackenzie, MD
Pediatricians take care of little people, but there is one very specialized physician at Nemours who cares for children who will be small in stature even as adults. William G. Mackenzie, MD, serves as Chairman of the Department of Orthopedics at the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children. He is renowned for his work in skeletal dysplasia, commonly known as dwarfism, caring for hundreds of children with the condition each year.
Born, raised, and educated in Vancouver, British Columbia, Dr. Mackenzie developed an early interest in his chosen field.
“Orthopedics is a very mechanical specialty—a combination of creative carpentry, surgery, and engineering,” says Dr. Mackenzie.
“It was very appealing to me. In addition, because I generally meet children when they are quite young and treat them over a span of many years, it is extremely satisfying work.”
Dr. Mackenzie came to the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in 1983, as an orthopaedic fellow. “I also served on staff, because they needed extra help at the time,” he remembers. At the time, the hospital (see related article) treated mostly orthopedic patients, but soon expanded to include additional pediatric services. Although Dr. Mackenzie returned to British Columbia to fulfill professional obligations, he came back to duPont Hospital in 1993.
Dr. Mackenzie developed a special interest in skeletal dysplasia. (Dysplasia is defined as abnormal development or growth of tissues, organs, or cells.) “I was very fortunate to have had some great mentors in this field, including Dr. Charles Scott (of Nemours), Dr. G. S. Bassett and Dr. Judith Hall.” The most common form of dwarfism is achondroplasia, which occurs in one of 30,000 births. The condition results in disproportionately short arms and legs and a height of less than 4 feet, 2 inches. “Our hospital is unique in the world in caring for children with skeletal dysplasias. There are very few physicians that have the opportunity to spend a large part of their time concentrating on this condition,” says Dr. Mackenzie. On Thursday of each week, Dr. Mackenzie has a specialized clinic for these children and works closely with Drs. Scott and Bober in the Genetics Program. “We take a multidisciplinary approach, with families having access to many specialists, including those in ENT (ear, nose and throat), pulmonology, neurosurgery, urology, radiology, and ophthalmology. Our team also includes physical therapists, social workers and nutritionists. These children often have very complex medical issues and need well-coordinated care.” The oldest service at the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children, the Department of Orthopaedics is also one of the largest, with ten pediatric orthopedists seeing almost 14,000 patients each year. “Our department treats a wide range of conditions, including cerebral palsy, scoliosis (curvature of the spine), arthrogryposis (contracture of the joints), spina bifida, and osteogenesis imperfecta (brittle bone disorder), as well as fractures, sport injuries and other common problems,” says Dr. Mackenzie.
“There have been so many advances in orthopedics that I find myself learning and doing new procedures that were not part of my original medical training,” comments Dr. Mackenzie. “We are now using special screws for correction of spinal deformity and new systems for realignment of the limbs. Our department recently added a specialist in orthopedic oncology to treat cancers of the bone, as well.”
“I recently received a wedding invitation from the family of a girl I operated on many years ago,” smiles Dr. Mackenzie, “That’s what makes it all worthwhile.”
