Ms Sara Dorman

Specialist care for the upper limb

Sara is a consultant paediatric and neuromuscular orthopaedic surgeon at Sheffield Children’s Hospital and Rotherham Foundation Trust. Her specialist interests include upper limb spasticity, cerebral palsy and congenital hand differences. Assessment focuses on the person’s goals: movement, comfort, independence and ease of care.

Specialist fellowships in Sheffield, Sydney and Paris

After orthopaedic training on the Mersey rotation, Sara undertook the National Paediatric Orthopaedic Fellowship at Sheffield Children’s Hospital, followed by a senior fellowship at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead in Sydney. She then completed a visiting fellowship in hand and upper limb spasticity at Institut de la Main in Paris. She holds an MSc in Trauma and Orthopaedics and a first class honours degree in anatomy and forensic anthropology.

Understanding outcomes that matter to families

Sara leads research into upper limb outcome measures, including VisULim Kids and EveryHAND Kids, and contributes to work defining meaningful outcomes in paediatric upper limb spasticity. She has written textbook chapters on congenital upper limb conditions, children’s hip disorders and musculoskeletal infection. Her EveryHandCP educational initiative supports children and families affected by upper limb spasticity.

Teaching and international partnerships

Sara chairs the British Society for Children’s Orthopaedic Surgery Global Partnership Committee and is a member of the British Society for Surgery of the Hand Global Partnership Committee. She is clinical lead for the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh International Surgical Training Programme in South Yorkshire. Her teaching roles include upper limb lead for the Sheffield Advanced Paediatric Course and faculty for the Advanced Masterclass in Upper Limb Spasticity.

Awards and fellowships

Sara received the Mersey Deanery Klenerman Gold Medal for FRCS in 2019 and completed the Lady Estelle Wolfson Emerging Leaders Fellowship in 2023. Her research and specialist development have been supported by BSSH and BSCOS grants and travelling fellowships.

Publications and professional interests

Selected publications reflect Sara’s work in upper limb care and international orthopaedics.

• Development of a core outcome set for paediatric upper limb spasticity — review and Delphi study protocolTrials · 2025
• Indirect hexapod frame-assisted reduction of chronic radial head dislocations in childrenStrategies in Trauma and Limb Reconstruction
• Total hip arthroplasty in Cambodia: experience of 256 consecutive replacementsTropical Doctor · 2022 · Co-author

Discuss suitability for a consultation

Please include the person’s age, diagnosis if known, main upper limb concerns and goals when enquiring. The appropriate setting and availability of private care can then be clarified.