Dr. Schmitt graduated from Emory University School of Medicine where he received his Doctor of Medicine Degree. He completed his orthopedic training in Boston at Harvard University where over half of his training was in the specialty of pediatric orthopedics, thereby gaining a love for children and their musculoskeletal problems. Thereafter, he served as Lieutenant Commander in the United States Navy and was stationed in the Republic of Vietnam, serving part of his time as Executive Officer and Staff Orthopedist at the Third Marine Division Memorial Children’s Hospital.

Following his return to Atlanta from the Navy, “Butch” joined the fulltime orthopedic faculty at the Emory University School of Medicine.

Shortly thereafter he was awarded the prestigious Giannestras-Schmerge Fellowship by the Orthopedic Research and Education Foundation and was named Chief of Orthopaedics at Egleston - a position he held from 1971 - 2002. He served as a fulltime Emory faculty at the University until 1992 when he entered private practice.

Together with Drs. Peter Meehan and Jack Eldridge he founded Pediatric Orthopaedic Associates in 1996, where each member has been an essential part of teaching Emory resident orthopedic physicians.

He has served on numerous elected committees throughout his career, spanning prestigious organizations such as the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine, Atlanta Orthopaedic Society, Scoliosis Research Society, Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation, and the Pediatric Orthopaedic Study Group. He founded and has served as consultant to the Georgia Department of Human Resources and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Scoliosis Screening Program since its inception in 1974.

Dr. Schmitt is nationally renowned and has delivered over 100 lectures, including instructional courses and visiting professorships. He has published in both medical journals and textbooks and served on the Board of Editors for the renowned Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics. He has been an American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery examiner for certifying orthopedic surgeons since 1978 and has developed proprietary orthopedic equipment, such as the DePuy Rod Holder and the Howmedica Pediatric Osteotomy System for hip surgery. One of his greatest accomplishments and honors was in founding the Section of Orthopaedics within the American Academy of Pediatrics. For devoted service to children he was awarded the prestigious Distinguished Service Award - the highest honor bestowed on an orthopedist by that Academy.

Dr. Schmitt is one of the founding fathers of orthopedic surgery at Egleston and Emory University. For three decades Dr. Schmitt has been instrumental in the development and growth of the Pediatric Orthopaedic Program for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston and has forged the critical link in training pediatric orthopedists at Emory University. Among his accomplishments, Dr. Schmitt has trained many of the currently practicing orthopedic surgeons in Atlanta and the Southeastern U.S.