Dr. Paley is internationally recognized for his expertise in limb lengthening and reconstruction. He trained under the guidance of Prof. Gavril Ilizarov during multiple visits to Kurgan, Soviet Union. Dr. Paley introduced the Ilizarov method to the US and Canada in 1987. He was the Founder and first president of the Limb Lengthening and Reconstruction Society in 1989 and of the International Limb Lengthening and Reconstruction Society in 2015. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including Gubernatorial Citation 1990, Pauwel’s Medal in Clinical Biomechanics 1997, Best paper/poster award by SICOT, AAOS, POSNA, AORS; best illustrated medical textbook 2003; Health Professional of the Year 2011, Health Hero of the Year 2013, Florida Most Influential Business Leader 2019, 20, 21, 22, and was named a Living Legend by the Palm Beach Illustrated. He served as the Orthopedic Surgeon to the White House from 2017 to 2021. He has published over 150 peer- reviewed articles, five books, and 60 book chapters. Most notably: Principles of Deformity Correction, Springer (2002, 2005). The CORA method of deformity analysis in this text has become the gold standard for deformity planning in orthopedics.
He is currently completing a book on Congenital Lower Limb Deformities. He developed 100+ surgical procedures including: SUPERhip, SUPERknee, SUPERankle, SHORDT, Paley-Weber patelloplasty, ulnarization, Paley Rotationplasty, modified Judet quadricepsplasty, Paley XUNION for CPT, MHE forearm correction, four-segment achondroplasia lengthening. He had had an interest in Perthes disease since 1989 when he first developed the method of articulated hip distraction for Perthes. He has also developed a method to reshape the femoral head using Femoral Head Reduction Osteotomy. He developed the Multiplier method of predicting leg length discrepancy and timing of epiphysiodesis, now available using the iOS app Paley Growth. He was an adjunct Professor of Orthopedic Surgery and consultant at the Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, from 2010-2014.
He currently holds an academic appointment as a Professor of Orthopedics at the University of Vermont and Florida Atlantic University. He sits on the Board of Governors of St. Mary’s Medical Center. He has performed 25,000+ surgeries. Patients come to see him from all 50 states and over 100 countries. He is fluent, writes, reads, and lectures in six languages. He runs the Paley and unLIMBited Foundations and does mission trips around the world.
Dr. Paley grew up in Canada and moved to the United States in 1987. He lives with his wife Jennifer and stepson Daelan and has three grown children, Benjamin, Jonathan, and Aviva, and two grandchildren, Dalia and Jack. His hobbies include reading history, skiing, road and mountain biking, rock climbing, and scuba diving. He is fluent and lectures in six languages – English, Hebrew, French, Italian, Spanish and Russian and can converse to a more limited extent in Portuguese, German and Arabic.
Dr. Paley organized the first Ilizarov course in 1987 and the first ASAMI North America (Limb Lengthening and Reconstruction Society) meeting in 1989. He served as the first president of this subspecialty society (now called the LLRS-Limb Lengthening and Reconstruction Society). He was the past president-elect of the International Limb Lengthening and Reconstruction Society and the Chairman of the Combined Meeting of ILLRS, LLRS, and ASAMI International-BR. He organized and ran the internationally attended Annual Baltimore Limb Deformity Course from 1989-2008. He has lectured and demonstrated surgery in more than 80 countries and provides training for specialists from around the world through a fellowship program.
Dr. Paley was the Congress Chairman of the ILLRS Conference in Miami, 2015
Dror Paley, M.D., is a board-certified, fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon and the most experienced surgeon in the United States and the world in limb lengthening and deformity correction. A partial listing of Dr Paley’s credentials include:
Dr Paley’s expertise extends equally to children and adults, as well as for the upper and lower extremities. He specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of:
International Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
