This year’s edition of the Orthopaedic Journal at Harvard Medical School is dedicated to Dr. Peter M. Waters. Dr. Waters has spent his illustrious career as a hand surgeon at Boston Children’s Hospital and is a world-renowned pediatric hand and upper extremity orthopaedic surgeon. He is past president of the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America (POSNA) and current co-President of the International Pediatric Orthopaedic Think Tank (IPOTT). He has written extensively in innumerable peer-reviewed journals and is co-author and editor of beloved textbooks such as the highly acclaimed Pediatric Hand and Upper Limb Surgery textbook and the gold-standard pediatric orthopedic textbook, Rockwood and Wilkins’ Fractures in Children.

Within the Harvard orthopaedic community, Dr. Waters serves as the John E. Hall Professor at Harvard Medical School and Orthopaedic Surgeon-in-Chief at Boston Children’s Hospital, but will soon be moving on from these roles. This marks a bittersweet transition for our community, as he has trained generations of residents and fellows who have all learned from his exemplary clinical and surgical expertise as well as his tireless care for his patients, who come from across the world when faced with difficult care dilemmas. The discipline of orthopaedics has truly been advanced as a result of his work, and his unwavering care for his patients and dedication to education has touched and improved lives the world over.

The residents and faculty at Harvard are honored to dedicate this year’s issue of the Journal to Dr. Waters.