Profile

Dr. Ashok N. Johari is a Paediatric Orthopaedic and Spine surgeon based in Mumbai. He spearheaded the development of Paediatric Orthopaedics in India with a very illustrious career. His love for children and for orthopaedics groomed in him a natural choice for this specialty. He started training in this field in 1980, supplemented by fellowships and visits to Japan, England, USSR, Latvia, France, Germany and USA.  

After a brilliant career in Orthopaedics, he started a paediatric orthopaedic unit at the local medical college in Mumbai in end 1985 and further developed this field at the two children’s hospitals in Mumbai. He took leadership position in organising the Paediatric Orthopaedic Society of India (POSI) in 1994 as its founder secretary. This society has flowered, celebrating its silver jubilee in 2019 and has interested many young surgeons in pursuing paediatric orthopaedics as a career. 

Over the years, Dr. Johari gained expertise in almost all areas of Paediatric Orthopaedics and he pioneered the introduction of many innovations and procedures in India e.g. magnetic lengthening of limbs and growth rods for the spine, multi-segmental instrumentation for spine, endoscopic anterior spine surgery, VEPTR, botulinum toxin etc. Awards, prizes and national and international recognition came galore as a tribute to his hard work and vision. He was appointed Chief Editor of the prestigious international Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics (B) in 2006, President of POSI in 2005, Indian Academy of Cerebral Palsy in 2008, Indian Orthopaedic Association in 2010, Asia Pacific Knee Society in 2012, SICOT World Congress in 2013, President of the Asia Pacific Paediatric Orthopaedic Society in 2017 and the World Association Against Infections in Orthopaedics and Trauma (WAIOT) in 2019. He was the President of the world body of Orthopaedics, SICOT, from 2020 to 2022 and is the current President of the International Federation of Paediatric Orthopaedic Societies (IFPOS).