New chief of pediatric orthopaedic surgery named

Charles A. Goldfarb, MD
Charles A. Goldfarb, MD

Charles A. Goldfarb, MD, has been appointed chief of pediatric orthopaedic surgery at Washington University School of Medicine and St. Louis Children’s Hospital. He succeeds Perry L. Schoenecker, MD, who has been serving as acting chief.

“Dr. Goldfarb is an internationally acclaimed expert and leader in the care and treatment of congenital hand deformities,” said Regis J. O’Keefe, MD, PhD, head of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. “He also is highly regarded for his compassionate care to children and families. Under Dr. Goldfarb’s leadership, St. Louis has become a destination for children around the country who require complex treatment of hand, wrist and arm problems.”

A hand and wrist specialist at the School of Medicine for 13 years, Goldfarb is a professor of orthopaedic surgery, co-chief of the department’s hand and wrist service and medical director of the Washington University and Barnes-Jewish Orthopedic Center in Chesterfield.

“At a time of exciting growth and innovation within the medical field, as well as continuing expansion of our pediatric services, Dr. Goldfarb brings a wealth of clinical expertise, patient advocacy and thought leadership to our orthopedics team,” said Joan Magruder, president of St. Louis Children’s Hospital. “We can’t imagine a more ideal catalyst for advancing pediatric care.”

Goldfarb was a 2014 Hugs for Heroes honoree, an award that gives patients at St. Louis Children’s Hospital and their families an opportunity to recognize doctors and nurses who have provided a high level of compassionate care. He also is an eight-time recipient of the Attending Physician Excellence in Education Award, decided by residents in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery.

Last year, working with biomedical engineering students at the university’s School of Engineering & Applied Science, Goldfarb was part of a team that used a 3-D printer to create a robotic, prosthetic arm for a teen who had lost her arm in a boating accident. The team made sure to fulfill her wish that the prosthetic arm be pink.

A native of Birmingham, Ala., Goldfarb earned a degree in history from Williams College in Williamstown, Mass. He earned his medical degree at the University of Alabama School of Medicine, and completed an internship in general surgery and residency in orthopaedic surgery at Washington University School of Medicine and Barnes-Jewish Hospital. He served as a hand surgery fellow at the University of Cincinnati before returning to the School of Medicine in 2002.

“This is an incredible opportunity for me to contribute to our pediatric orthopaedic surgery group at a time when the department is changing and growing,” Goldfarb said. “We have a new Children’s Hospital facility in west St. Louis County, a new Shriners hospital on our Medical Campus, and we have an amazing core facility in St. Louis Children’s Hospital. I look forward to working with our very talented faculty at all of those facilities to do what’s right for kids.”

Goldfarb is a member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America and the American Orthopaedic Association. He also is active in the American Society for Surgery of the Hand.


Washington University School of Medicine’s 2,100 employed and volunteer faculty physicians also are the medical staff of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals. The School of Medicine is one of the leading medical research, teaching and patient-care institutions in the nation, currently ranked sixth in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Through its affiliations with Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals, the School of Medicine is linked to BJC HealthCare.