Janet L. Walker, MD

Specialties

Orthopaedic Surgery

Areas of Care:

Location(s):

Languages Spoken:

English

Janet Walker, M.D., is an attending surgeon at Shriners Children's Lexington and a professor of orthopedics at the University of Kentucky. Her areas of clinical expertise and research include lower extremity deformities, congenital limb deficiencies, clubfeet and amputations in children. She grew up in Tampa, Florida and completed her undergraduate, medical school and orthopedic residency at the University of South Florida. She trained in pediatric orthopedics at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto Ontario, Canada with Dr. Mercer Rang and traveled to Kurgan, Russia for special training in the Ilizarov method of limb lengthening.

After two years as the only pediatric orthopedic surgeon at Texas Tech University, Dr. Walker joined the team at the Shriners Children's Lexington. She came here to be part of a collaborative group of professionals providing world-class orthopedic care, exclusively to children. Unlike an academic medical center, or even a children’s hospital, at the Shriners Children's Lexington, Dr. Walker gets to work with nurses, care managers, surgical teams, radiological technologists, therapists, social workers and other staff who are totally focused on orthopedic conditions in children. The knowledge, expertise and efficiency of these teams allow her patients to undergo long and difficult treatments with rapid and exceptional recovery. Some children require a short but intense intervention. Others are followed from birth until they are 18 years old. Dr. Walker has enjoyed being at Shriners Children's Lexington long enough to care for the second generation in some of her patients' families.

One example of the collaborative care at Shriners Children's Lexington is the prosthetics clinic, where Dr. Walker cares for children who have amputations. Professionals in orthotics and prosthetics, physical and occupational therapy, care management and social work staff the clinic and give input into the treatment alternatives for each child, depending on their needs, wants and desires. Dr. Walker can then prescribe the appropriate treatment and determine if surgery can improve the child’s function. Her goal is to help every child achieve his or her full potential.

In addition to membership in national pediatric orthopedic organizations, Dr. Walker has spearheaded a research-focused workgroup of surgeons throughout the Shriners Children's network. Their goal is to use a multi-centered approach to determine best treatments for children with lower limb deformities and deficiencies. Using the vast clinical expertise throughout the Shriners Children's system, this workgroup will allow the study of a large number of children with these uncommon conditions, collecting enough information to make evidence-based recommendations.

While there is little free time, caring for her two children and two grandchildren, Dr. Walker likes to travel, hike, do arts and crafts, embroidery, knitting and crocheting.

Loading component...

Pediatric Care

Specialty

Orthopaedic Surgery
Orthopedics
Pediatric Surgery

Loading component...

{"items":[{"title":"Shriners Children's Lexington","image":"https://edge.sitecorecloud.io/shrinershosf393-shriners4ad9-prodb963-58d8/media/images/shc/location-entities/lexington/two_young_females_960x640_fue7ueff3p5btfelcvtsm0hc3p.jpg?h=640&iar=0&w=960","imageAlt":"two female pediatric patients","text":"Pediatric specialty care for children throughout Kentucky and beyond","ctaItem":{"ctaLinkIcon":"https://edge.sitecorecloud.io/shrinershosf393-shriners4ad9-prodb963-58d8/media/icons/si-nonhero-icons-_-24x24px/solid-white-_-24x24px/mappin_24x24_whitesolid.svg?iar=0","ctaLinkText":"More About This Location","ctaLink":"https://www.shrinerschildrens.org/en/locations/lexington"},"itemId":"https://www.shrinerschildrens.org/en/locations/lexington"}]}

More About Me

Board Certifications

American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery, Orthopaedic Surgery, Orthopaedic Surgery - General

Education and Training

Medical Education|University of South Florida College of Medicine|Tampa|FL||06/30/1981

Internship|Polyclinic Medical Center|Harrisburg|PA||06/30/1982

Residency|Polyclinic Medical Center|Harrisburg|PA||01/01/1983

Residency|University of South Florida, College of Medicine|Tampa|FL||06/30/1986

Academic Positions and Locations

University of KY
Professor of Surgery (Orthopaedics), full Tenure

Leadership and Memberships

2000-Present: Clinic Chief, Shriners Children's Lexington, Association of Children's Prosthetic and Orthotic Clinics
2012-2013: Program Committee Chair, Association of Children's Prosthetic and Orthotic Clinics
2001-Present: Chair, Infection Control Committee, Shriners Children's Lexington
1993-1994: President, Ruth Jackson Orthopaedic Society

Editorial Positions

2019-Present: Reviewer, Journal of Pediatric Orthopedics
2011-Present: Reviewer, Current Orthopaedic Practice

Awards and Honors

2016-Present, Top Doctor in Lexington, Kentucky, International Association of Orthopedic Surgeons, The Leading Physicians of the World
2015-Present, America's Best Physicians
2003-Present, American Orthopaedic Association

Academic Works and Presentations

Presentation: Association of Children's Prosthetic and Orthotic Clinics Annual Meeting (virtual) - Challenging Case: Growing Up Means Getting Up Off of the Floor (04/2021)
Eposter: American Orthopaedic Association, Charlotte, North Carolina, Obesity and Idiopathic Genu Valgum in Children and Adolescents (06/2017)
Presentation: 1st Annual Combined Meeting of the European Paediatric Orthopaedic Society and the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America, Barcelona, Spain - Ponseti Treatment of Clubfeet Results in Less Foot Size Asymmetry Than Comprehensive Surgical Releases (05/2017)
Presentation: 1st Annual Combined Meeting of the European Paediatric Orthopaedic Society and the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America, Barcelona, Spain - Pediatric Forearm Fractures Are Effectively Immobilized with a Sugar Tong Splint Following Closed Reduction (05/2017)
Presentation: Association of Children's Prosthetic and Orthotic Clinics Annual Meeting, Broomfield Colorado - Upper Extremity Anomalies Associated With Femoral and Fibular Deficiency (04/2016)

Next Steps

Request an Appointment

Families and caregivers seeking treatment should start by contacting us for an appointment.

Get Started

Loading component...

Log in to the Patient Portal

Parents and guardians of existing patients can email, request records, schedule appointments and more.

Loading component...

Refer a Patient

Physicians and healthcare providers can request appointments, start transfers or contact us with questions.

Send Referral

Loading component...

Loading component...

Janet L. Walker, MD

Loading component...

Pediatric Care

Specialty

Loading component...

Loading component...

Loading component...

Where I Provide Care

Shriners Children's Lexington

More About Me

Next Steps

Request an Appointment

Loading component...

Log in to the Patient Portal

Loading component...

Refer a Patient

Loading component...

Loading component...

Loading component...

Pediatric Care

Specialty

Request an Appointment

Log in to the Patient Portal

Refer a Patient