Hall of Fame

The POSNA Hall of Fame provides an enduring history to honor those POSNA members who have displayed dedication to the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America, teaching and mentoring, studying musculoskeletal conditions in children and caring for children with musculoskeletal conditions. Nominations for inductees are taken each fall by the POSNA membership and selected by the Awards Committee and members of the Hall of Fame.  

Hall of Fame Categories: Leadership, Diversity, Teacher, Humanitarian, Hero, Triumph over Adversity, Pioneer, Contributions to Literature, Home Person (one who does the real work while others go to meetings), Fox-Hole Buddy (reliable person when the stakes are high), Exceptional Clinician, POSNA Service

Eligibility:

• POSNA member for at least 15 years
• Minimum age of 60 years
• Inaugural Class (2019) includes all previous Distinguished Achievement Award recipients

Dr. Walter Putnam Blount was born in Oak Park, Illinois in 1900. He became one of several physicians in his family, starting with his paternal grandfather who was a surgeon in the Civil War. His mother was an active physician and surgeon in Oak Park and his father was a high school science teacher who authored several text books. His sister also became a pediatrician in Chicago. Dr. Blount started medical school at the University of Illinois in Chicago, but transferred to Rush Medical College, where his grandfather had trained, graduating in 1925. He completed orthopaedic training at the University of Wisconsin, followed by several months of study in European orthopaedic centers, where he formed lifelong friendships with orthopaedists such as Max Böhm and Philipp Erlacher. He then returned to Milwaukee to join the orthopaedic practice of Dr. Frederick Gaenslen, eventually opening his own practice in 1935. He later became the Chief of the Milwaukee Children’s Hospital and the Chairman of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Marquette University School of Medicine.

Dr. Blount’s contributions to the field of pediatric orthopaedic surgery are extensive. After Erlacher’s initial case report of tibia vara in 1922, Blount published his series of 13 patients with “osteochondrosis deformans tibiae” in JBJS in 1937, now commonly known as Blount disease. As polio became widespread in the 1930’s and 1940’s, Blount developed the implants and surgical technique for epiphyseal stapling to correct leg length discrepancies. He first presented his work at the AAOS annual meeting in Chicago in 1949, which was featured in TIME magazine:

“One day last week, Milwaukee's Dr. Walter P. Blount told the 16th annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons about a new method of treating lame children. Shy, intense Dr. Blount, 48, was the hit of the convention. So many doctors were jotting down notes that the crowded green and gold grand ballroom of Chicago's Palmer House looked like a classroom. Dr. Blount's method: using stainless steel staples with ¾ inch prongs to retard growth of the longer leg.

In a minor operation, the staples are driven into the long bones of the leg above and below the knee, near the joint, where the bone grows longer. There is no need to try to figure out the exact time when the child's growth will end, Dr. Blount explained. The staples do not keep the leg from growing, but they slow the process. When the short leg has caught up, and the child walks without a limp, the staples are taken out, and both legs can grow at once. The staples may be kept in place as long as two years.

The Blount technique can also be used for treating other deformities. In knock-knees, the staples are put on the inside of the bone near the knee; in bowlegs, on the outside. So far, Dr. Blount has used his stapling treatment on 57 patients. For 13, the treatment has ended successfully with removal of the staples.”

In 1954, Dr. Blount published the textbook “Fractures in Children,” a comprehensive guide on the management of pediatric fractures. This book even included several amusing illustrations (see below).


           
While practicing at the Milwaukee Children’s Hospital and the Medical College of Wisconsin, Dr. Blount also collaborated with Dr. Albert C. Schmidt on the development of the Milwaukee brace. This was initially designed as post-operative immobilization as an alternative to turnbuckle casts. The use of the brace was presented at the AAOS annual meeting in 1947, with the first publication was in 1958. Blount later published the book, “The Milwaukee Brace,” with Dr. John Moe in 1973. This brace is still used today for non-operative scoliosis treatment.


Walter Blount (L) and Albert Schmidt (R) with patient in Milwaukee brace.

Dr. Blount remained active in several professional societies throughout his career.  He served as President of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the Clinical Orthopaedic Society, and the Hip Society.  He was the Vice President of SICOT (International Society of Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology), Chairman of the Orthopaedic Section of the American Medical Association, and on the Board of Governors of the American College of Surgeons.  He held honorary memberships to several European orthopaedic associations.  He served on the Board of Associate Editors of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery.  Fluent in several languages, Dr. Blount also served as a translator for articles to be published in English.
            When honoring Dr. Blount in the Milwaukee orthopaedic community, his friend and colleague, Dr. Wayne Boulanger, wrote:
His proud Milwaukee colleagues recognized many years ago that Walter Blount was far more than a busy surgeon with a large practice.  Early in his career, he was willing to challenge long-standing concepts and traditional therapy.  He was an innovator – but his innovations were based on sound, well-researched principles – principles now proven in practice around the world.

Walter Blount would not have accomplished his many achievements without a lion’s share of drive and spirit…We are all beneficiaries of that drive and spirit, but the most appreciative beneficiaries of all are the children of the world.  Because of Walter Blount, they can stand a little straighter, can walk more gracefully, with less pain…Perhaps this little poem will express how we all feel about him:

Walter P. Blount, Orthopedist

A crooked back
A winsome face

A little girl
An awesome brace

But time goes by
The child grows tall

You hardly see
The curve at all

The aches and pains
No longer count

Her life was touched
By Walter Blount”



Walter Blount and Albert Schmidt reviewing manuscript for first article on scoliosis.

References:
The University of Kansas Medical Center Archives, including the Blount Collection and the Scoliosis Research Society Collection
A Tribute to a Contemporary: Walter P Blount, MD.  Orthopaedic Review 1979 Jul;8(7):19-21.
Medicine: Slow Down.  Time Magazine Feb 7, 1949.