“One of the most rewarding things about what I do is helping kids achieve as normal and functional a life as possible,” says Dr. Avrum Joffe, a board-certified pediatric orthopedic surgeon and associate director of Orthopedic Surgery at the Valley Hospital in Ridgewood.

Dr. Joffe and his team, Dr. Hakan Pehlivan and physician assistant Jill McGovern, treat newborns to eighteen year olds. They are some of the very few specialty-trained pediatric orthopedic surgeons in Bergen County. Dr. Joffe explains that treating children is very different from working with adults. “You have to form a bond with both the children and their parents. Injuries and surgery are scary for kids, so you have to be approachable. They have to relate to you and trust you.”

The team handles fractures, trauma, sports-related injuries, and congenital deformities of the limbs and spine. Their treatment approach is to use the most conservative and least invasive methods that are possible and appropriate for a child’s condition. “We’re on the forefront of the latest technological developments in our field and use the most up-to-date methods and techniques,” Dr. Joffe says.

Dr. Joffe takes pride in the fact that he lives where he works. “We’ve built a good reputation among the pediatricians and parents in our community. They trust that we’re going to give our patients the best care possible.”

HOSPITAL AFFILIATIONS: The Valley Hospital, Ridgewood; Hackensack University Medical Center; St. Joseph’s University Medical Center, Paterson; Vanguard Surgical Center, Maywood.

MEDICAL TRAINING: Rutgers NJ Medical School (MD); St. Luke’s–Roosevelt Hospital, Center, New York City (internship, residency); Rady Children’s Hospital, San Diego (fellowship).