Anthony W. Alexander, MD
Specialty: Non-operative Spine Specialist (Physiatry)
Bio: Anthony Alexander, MD, is a Board Certified physiatrist for Pee Dee Orthopaedic Associates, P.A. He focuses on the treatment of a variety of acute and chronic conditions including musculoskeletal disorders, spine injuries and chronic pain syndrome. Dr. Alexander provides a comprehensive medical history and clinical exam of his patients with the goal of restoring function and improving the quality of life. He also uses neurodiagnostic testing (EMG/NCS) to evaluate patients for numerous neurologic diseases and disorders.  His approach includes an individualized rehabilitation program focusing on goal directed care designed to maximize patient function and self-sufficiency. Dr. Alexander is an interventional physiatrist and practices interventional pain management to treat both acute and chronic spine injuries and disease processes.  He utilizes a variety of fluoroscopic spinal procedures to treat patients including interlaminar epidural injections, transforaminal lumbar epidural injections, facet joint steroid injections, lumbar medial branch blocks, radiofrequency lesioning of lumbar spine, SI joint steroid injections, lumbar selective nerve root blocks, and spinal cord stimulation trials.

He sees patients of all ages and treats problems that touch upon all major systems of the body.

Rakesh P. Chokshi, MD
Specialty: Spine Surgeon
Bio: Dr. Rakesh Chokshi specializes in spinal disorders such as herniated disc, degenerative disc disease, spinal stenosis, and spinal cord and nerve disorders. His special interests are cervical spine problems and minimally invasive thorocolumbar procedures using the most current technology to help patients with spinal problems. Other interests include pediatric spine deformity and spine trauma.

Dr. Chokshi served as past president of the South Carolina Spine Society. He is Board Certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery and is a member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. He has advanced fellowship training in adult and pediatric spine which include cervical (neck), thoracic and lumbar (back) problems.

Dr. Chokshi received his medical degree from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, SC. He is a member of Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. Dr. Chokshi completed his orthopaedic surgery training at Ochsner Hospital and Clinics in New Orleans, LA. He pursued his Spine Surgery Fellowship at internationally known Leatherman Spine Institute, University of Louisville, Kentucky.

Dr. Chokshi is involved in FDA trials of artificial discs and also in spinal product evaluation and development. Dr. Chokshi is a regular attendee at the Cervical Spine Research Society, the North American Spine Society, the South Carolina Spine Society, the South Carolina Orthopaedic Association and the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons meetings. In addition, he is a member of SOLAS, the Society of Lateral Access Surgery. To learn more, click here.

Barry L. Clark, DO
Specialty:  Adult Hip and Knee Arthroplasty, Hip Fracture, Knee Arthroscopy

Bio:  Barry L Clark, DO, is a fellowship trained, Board Certified orthopaedic surgeon specializing in adult hip and knee reconstruction.

He graduated in 1985 from the Medical College of Georgia Physician Assistant program in Augusta, GA  and practiced as a Physician Assistant both in the Washington, DC area and Augusta, GA for nine years.  He then returned to school attending Des Moines University School of Osteopathic Medicine in 1994 and graduated in 1998.  He gained orthopaedic surgical residency at the University of North Texas/Fort Worth Osteopathic Hospital, Ft. Worth, TX from 1998 to 2003.  Dr. Clark then pursued an Adult Hip and Knee Reconstructive Fellowship with Dr. Robert Schmidt, MD and Dr. Ajai Cadambi, MD at the Texas Hip and Knee Center, Ft. Worth, Texas.

His specialty is in primary and revision hip and knee arthroplasty, minimally invasive techniques for hip and knee reconstruction, hip resurfacing, hip fracture care, unicompartmental knee arthroplasty and knee arthroscopy.

In the area of hip and knee reconstruction, he has helped to develop instrumentation for both minimally invasive hip and knee surgery used throughout the world.  He watches and helps to train orthopaedic surgeons throughout the United States to utilize these techniques as well.  He brought these minimally invasive techniques to the Pee Dee community.  These techniques include percutaneously assisted Total Hip Arthroplasty or PATH, Anterior Total Hip Arthroplasty, and the mini mid-vastus approach for Total Knee Arthroplasty. 

He has been honored to intermittently work as a paid consultant for Wright Medical Technology for teaching, lectures, and product development.  He is also honored to work as a paid consultant for the American Osteopathic Academy of Orthopaedics lecturing at its national conventions.  As a board examiner at the American Osteopathic Board of Orthopaedic Surgery, he also examines fellow Orthopaedic surgeons to assist in their board certification process. 

He is Board Certified in Orthopedic Surgery.  He is also a member of the American Osteopathic Association, The American Medical Association, The American Osteopathic Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, and The South Carolina Orthopaedic Association.

While from Augusta, Georgia, Dr. Clark and his family are proud to call the Florence/Darlington area home.

Patrick K. Denton, MD
Specialty: Knee and Shoulder, Sports Medicine
Bio: Patrick K. Denton, MD, is a Board Certified Surgeon who specializes in sports medicine and arthroscopic treatment of knee and shoulder disorders.  He graduated with honors from the University of Michigan.  He continued his medical education at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.  He completed his Orthopaedic training at Indiana University in Indianapolis, Indiana.  Dr. Denton then pursued additional training during his Sports Medicine Fellowship at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin. Dr. Denton is recognized by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery as a Certified Sports Medicine Specialist and is currently the only physician in the Pee Dee Region with this level of achievement. In addition, Dr. Denton is a certified Sports Metrics specialist in the prevention of ACL tears in the female athlete.

Dr. Denton has been involved in the treatment and care of athletes of all levels of participation from the child athlete to the professional athlete.  He currently serves as the orthopaedic team provider for Francis Marion University and Florence District I.  He was the orthopaedic physician for the Pee Dee Pride and the Pee Dee Cyclone Hockey Teams.  He has attended and presented at numerous orthopaedic and sports meetings.  He has special interests in the arthroscopic treatment of shoulder instability, rotator cuff injuries, anterior cruciate ligament injuries, cartilage injuries of the knee, and treatment of sports concussions.  He strives to treat orthopaedic injuries with advanced minimally invasive techniques to expedite the recovery of the patient.

He is currently involved in various orthopaedic societies, including the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, The Arthroscopy Association of North America, The American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine and the South Carolina Orthopaedic Association.  He serves as a physician leader on hospital committees of both McLeod Regional Medical Center and Carolinas Hospital System. 

Dr. Denton has been in Florence with his wife, Leslie and son, Parker since 2001.

W.S. "Bill" Edwards, MD
Specialty: Spine Specialist
Bio: W.S. "Bill" Edwards, Jr., MD, is a Board Certified Spine Specialist who has been associated with Pee Dee Orthopaedic Associates since 1988. He completed undergraduate and medical school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His orthopaedic surgery training was at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. He then completed a Spine Surgery fellowship at the South Texas Spinal Clinic in San Antonio, Texas. His practice is limited to conditions involving the neck and back, both surgical and non-surgical. He is the past president of the South Carolina Orthopaedic Association, the South Carolina Spine Society, the Florence County Medical Society, and has served leadrership positions at both McLeod Regional Medical Center and Carolinas Hospital System.

As a spine surgeon, the most common conditions that require his expertise include disc herniations of the neck and back, arthritis of the spine, spinal instability requiring fusions in the neck and back and lumbar stenosis requiring decompressive surgery.  At Pee Dee Spine Center he and his colleagues have been intensely involved in clinical research including most recently FDA sponsored trials in artificial discs.

Robert E. Elvington, Jr., MD 
Specialty: Knee and Shoulder, Sports Medicine
Bio: Robert E. Elvington, Jr., MD, is a Board Certified Orthopaedic Surgeon who specializes in arthroscopic and reconstructive surgery of the knee and shoulder. He is a native of Florence, South Carolina.

He graduated with a BS from the Citadel. His medical education continued at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, South Carolina. His orthopaedic surgery training was also completed at the Medical University of South Carolina.

Dr. Elvington began his practice in 1998 with Pee Dee Orthopaedic Associates. He then in 2004 finished a fellowship at the Insall Scott Kelly Institute for Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine in New York City. He had comprehensive training in sports medicine and knee reconstruction. He also worked with the team physicians for the New York Yankees and the New York Knicks. He then worked in private practice in Charleston, South Carolina for two and a half years and has recently returned to serve the community of Florence again. Dr. Elvington treats patients of all ages with sports injuries and degenerative diseases of the knee and shoulder.

Dewey N  Nelson Ervin, MD
Specialty: General Orthopaedics/Emeritus
Bio: Dewey Nelson Ervin, MD, is a Board Certified Orthopaedic surgeon. He attended Tulane Medical School in New Orleans, Louisiana and earned his MD in 1967. He served as Captain in the United States Air Force as General Medical Officer from 1968 to 1970. When released from the service, he completed a year of  General Surgery Residency Program at the Mary Imogene Basset Hospital in Cooperstown, New York in 1971.

Dr. Ervin completed his Orthopaedic Surgery Residency at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, New York in 1974. He is a member of the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery and the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. He has been in Florence at Pee Dee Orthopaedic Associates since 1974.

Jason B. O'Dell, MD

A native of Florence, SC, Dr. Jason B. O’Dell graduated with Honors from Clemson University. He then attended the Medical University of South Carolina and received a Doctor of Medicine degree. After completing a surgical internship at MUSC, he completed his Orthopaedic residency training at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in Shreveport, Louisiana. Most recently, Dr. O’Dell has sought additional training in reconstructive Foot and Ankle surgery with the Florida Orthopaedic Institute in Tampa, Florida under the direction of Roy W. Sanders, M.D.

Dr. O’Dell returns to Florence and Pee Dee Orthopaedic Associates with the ability to expand the scope of subspecialty Orthopaedic care not previously available in this region. A board eligible Orthopaedic Surgeon, Dr. O’Dell, his wife and two children reside in Florence and he enjoys serving the residents of the Pee Dee Region and beyond.

To learn more about an orthopaedic foot and ankle surgeon, click here.

Nigel A.R. Watt, MD
Specialty: General Orthopaedics, Hip, Knee and Shoulder Surgery
Bio: Originally from England, Nigel Watt, MD, earned his Bachelors, Masters and Medical Degree from Cambridge University. He completed his general surgical and orthopaedic training in London, Cambridge and Edinburgh and received the Diplomas of the Royal College of Surgeons in General and Orthopaedic Surgery (UK equivalent of Board Certification).

Dr Watt completed Fellowship Training in arthroscopic and joint replacement surgery of the knee, hip and shoulder in Florence and Columbia, SC and served as Associate Professor in Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of South Carolina.

Matthew D. Welsch, MD

Matthew Welsch, M.D. is a fellowship-trained hand and upper extremity specialist.  Dr. Welsch obtained his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame.  After working four years in industry, he returned to studies and received his medical degree from the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  He completed his orthopaedic  surgery residency at Indiana University, and went on to subspecialty training in hand surgery at the well-respected Indiana Hand Center in Indianapolis, Indiana.   He has recently settled down in Florence with his wife, Tammy, and daughters, Molly and Adelyn, as well as their three dogs. They recently welcomed a son, Harrison, to their family. Outside of hand surgery, he enjoys golfing, fishing, traveling, and spending time with family.