Emily Hattwick, MD

Medical Director of:
Orthopaedic Surgery and Sports Medicine
Languages:
English, Spanish
Service: Orthopaedics and sports Medicine
Specialty/Profession:
Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgery
Additional Degrees or Certifications:
Master's of Public Health
Board Certifications:
American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery
Areas of Clinical Interest:
Pediatric hand surgery, congenital, post-traumatic deformity
Education:

Fellowship: University of California, San Francisco and Shriner’s Hospital of Northern California (2004)
Residency: Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (2003)
Medical School: George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences (1998)
Undergraduate: University of Virginia (1990)

Awards & Recognition:

Top Doctors Recognition: Arlington Magazine, Northern Virginia Magazine, Virginia Living Magazine, Washingtonian

Clinic Locations: Fairfax

Keystone Publications:

Sanders DW, Busam M, Hattwick E, Edwards JR, McAndrew MP, Johnson KD. Functional outcomes following displaced talar neck fractures. J Orthop Trauma. 2004 May-Jun;18(5):265-70.

Bernstein JJ, Anagnostopoulos AV, Hattwick EA, Laws ER Jr. Human-specific c-neu proto-oncogene protein overexpression in human malignant astrocytomas before and after xenografting. J Neurosurg 1993 Feb;78(2):240-51.

Patient Reviews:
"Dr. Hattwick was amazing and attentive with my son. I really appreciate the level of care that she provided."

"Dr. Hattwick has been a great doctor for my daughter. She always made sure to explain everything so she could understand, not just for me to understand. I greatly appreciate everything she did for my daughter to get her through this. I would highly recommend her to anyone!"

"We had a great experience with Dr. Hattwick. She was very knowledgeable about my son's case and was able to recommend treatment immediately. The technician was also outstanding, treated us with respect, and was very good at her job."

"Dr. Emily Hattwick was fabulous! I recommend her to everyone. She thoroughly explained the condition, even drawing pictures. She saved my child from an unnecessary surgery a previous doctor had recommended. I will forever be grateful for her expertise and time."

"Dr. Hattwick is awesome! She is patient and always takes the time to listen and answer all our questions. We love her!"

Service: Orthopaedics and sports Medicine
Where did you grow up?
McLean, VA
Why did you become a doctor and why did you choose your specialty?
I started out thinking I would become a marine biologist but after a summer watching fish I realized I wanted to have a greater daily impact on the world around me. I worked in an emergency room before deciding to go to medical school and fell in love with the intricacy of the hands. I later gravitated to pediatric deformities because each patient’s difference is unique and requires both knowledge and creativity in treatment to produce the best results.
How long have you practiced in the Washington, DC area and what do you like most about it?
I always knew I would return to the DC area, so after living in Nashville and San Francisco, I came back home. I have been in practice in Washington, DC for 20 years and I love the diversity of the people here and their different histories and backgrounds. I also love the four seasons and the deep history of the capitol area.
What do you most enjoy doing outside of your clinical practice, when you’re not working?
Each day, I look forward to getting home and sharing my children’s experiences from school and their activities. We ride horses, play baseball, basketball and music, and take the dog for a run. We also travel a lot -- I love seeing the world through my children’s eyes.
Do you volunteer? If so, where?
I participate in international surgical mission trips. These trips have taken me to Nicaragua, Colombia, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, and Peru. The experience is life changing -- to see the challenges and limitations a patient will overcome to recover function always amazes me and reinforces my decision to become a doctor.
Describe your proudest accomplishment as a provider and/or in your personal life:
I am most proud when I see or hear my patients succeed in their activities and embrace their differences rather than hide them. I feel that much of my job is to teach families and children that having a limb difference is something to work with or adapt to, and that success as a person is the goal. Ideally I can contribute to helping them use their hands or arms to succeed in activities through education, surgery, or therapy.
If you weren’t a doctor, what profession would you most likely be doing and why?
I would be either a painter or a marine biologist. I love how certain paintings open you to thoughts or memories which are different from how we usually think. My paintings (which aren’t very good- hence I’m a doctor) are full of colors and suggestions of hidden things that pull on my imagination. The most peaceful place I have been is underwater -- diving in the ocean surrounded by the steady motion of fish, coral and the water. I sometimes daydream about how to mesh pediatric hand deformities and the marine world. One day!
Personal Sketch:

2 - Children (boy and girl twins)
10 - Pets (One dog, 1 cat, 4 chickens, 3 fish, and one hermit crab)
Other - I am learning Arabic and am interested in trying French or Italian next.