Brief Biography

Dr. Wedge obtained his medical degree from the University of Saskatchewan and received his postgraduate general surgery and orthopaedic education from the Royal Victoria Hospital, McGill University, the University of Saskatchewan and The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto. He did his research training in the Metabolic Research Laboratory at the Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford, England (Sir Hans Krebs, Director) and the Nuffield Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Oxford University, supported by a fellowship from the Canadian Medical Research Council.

After completion of training he joined the Department of Surgery (Orthopaedics) in Saskatoon and later became Head of Orthopaedic Surgery, Professor and Chairman of the Department of Surgery, University of Saskatchewan and Head of the Department of Surgery, Royal University Hospital, Saskatoon. In 1988 he assumed the position of Head, Division of Orthopaedic Surgery, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, and in 1992 was appointed the Colonel R.S. McLaughlin Professor and Chair, Department of Surgery, University of Toronto. In January 1995, he was appointed Surgeon-in-Chief, The Hospital for Sick Children. In September 2002, he completed his term as Chairman of the University Department of Surgery. He has subsequently been appointed Associate Dean, Clinical Affairs, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto.

Dr. Wedge's clinical interests include reconstructive surgery of the hip in children and young adults, and the management of cerebral palsy. He is an orthopaedic consultant at the Bloorview MacMillan Centre, where he conducts a cerebral palsy and spasticity clinic, and at the Grandview Children’s Centre in Oshawa, where he also conducts a cerebral palsy clinic for children from Pickering to Peterborough.

Dr. Wedge is an international authority on complex surgical hip reconstruction in adolescents and has published widely in this area. He is frequently invited to universities and hospitals around the world to speak about hip surgery.

Dr. Wedge is a past president of the Canadian Orthopaedic Research Society and is a member of the editorial boards of the Journal of Paediatric Orthopaedics, Current Orthopaedics and the Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery. He is a consultant reviewer for The American Volume of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery and Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research. He has been an examiner for the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in Orthopaedic Surgery and The American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery. He is currently a member of the Board of Trustees of the Bloorview MacMillan Children’s Rehabilitation Centre and Governing Council of the University of Toronto. Memberships in organizations include The Canadian Orthopaedic Association, The American Orthopaedic Association, the American Surgical Association, the Paediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America, The Hip Society, American College of Surgeons, the British Orthopaedic Society (honorary) and The Girdlestone Orthopaedic Society (Oxford).

Dr. Wedge stepped down as Surgeon-in-Chief December 31, 2004.

Research Interests

Paediatric orthopaedic disorders including special interest in cerebral palsy, Perthes, acetabular dysplasia, developmental dysplasia of the hip, slipped capital femoral epiphysis and avascular necrosis of the proximal femur.

Achievements

The Whittaker Memorial Cerebral Palsy Award. 2003

Clinical Care Activities

Dr. Wedge's clinical interests include reconstructive surgery of the hip in children and young adults and the management  cerebral palsy

Publications

Wright FV, Sheil EMH, Drake JM, Wedge JH, Naumann S: Evaluation of selective dorsal rhizotomy for the reduction of spasticity in cerebral palsy: A randomized controlled trial. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology 1998: 40: pp 239-247.

Young NL, Wright JG, Lam TP, Rajaratnam K, Stephen D, Wedge JH: Windswept hip deformity in spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy. Pediatric Physical Therapy 1998: 10(3): pp 94-100.

Daniels TR, Alman B, Wedge JH: Congenital clubfoot. Current Orthopaedics 1999: 13: pp 229-238

Wedge JH, Daniels TR, Alman BA: Congenital clubfoot. Current Paediatrics 2001: 11(5): pp 332-340

Wedge JH, Hamilton SM, Taylor BR: Residency education in surgery. Canadian Journal of Surgery 2001: 44: pp 327-329

Wedge, JH, Bogoch ER: The surgical management of juvenile arthritis. In: Oxford Textbook of Orthopaedics and Trauma (Buckwalter J, Bulstrode C, Carr A, Fairbank J, Marsh L, Wilson-MacDonald J., eds). Oxford University Press, London, United Kingdom 2002.

Emery DFG, Wedge JH: Orthopaedic management of children with total body involvement cerebral palsy. Current Orthopaedics 2003: 17/2: pp 81-87

Wedge JH: : Legg Perthes’ Disease – Current Concepts. Canadian Orthopaedic Association Bulletin 2003: Aug/Sep 03: pp 21-22