Orthopedic

 

      Orthopedic is a medical specialty where Surgeons treat diseases and injuries of the spine and extremities of the human body. There are several treatments to improve the quality of life of the Patients; among them are surgeries, medications, and physical therapy. The primary objective of these is to preserve as much as possible the function of the musculoskeletal human system.

The musculoskeletal system involves several parts of the body, including bones; joints; ligaments; tendons; muscles; nerves.


Main procedures

      Orthopedic involves several procedures. Among them are: hip replacement; hip resurfacing; knee replacement; shoulder replacement; spine surgery, total disc replacement and knee arthroscopy.

Hip replacement counts with different surgery techniques. These include, in the first place, what is known as traditional hip replacement. This is the most common hip replacement procedure, and it consists of incisions situated on the upper thigh and buttock. At the same time, there are techniques for hip replacement which are not very invasive. Some are related to approaches using smaller incisions combined with traditional approaches, and at the same time, to combine surgical approaches employing smaller incisions, and even in some cases, two incisions.

There are several advantages that characterized the hip resurfacing technique. One of them is to preserve the femoral head and the femoral canal. According to Doctors’ revisions, there is no evidence of associated femoral bone loss within this procedure. Another important advantage to stand out is that due to a larger size of implant ball, it is reduced the risk of dislocation considerably.

Knee replacement surgery is another procedure that stands out in the orthopedic field. In this case, the worn surfaces at the end of the thighbone of the knee are removed using qualified instruments. Afterwards, the bone is shaped to get ready for a new covering. At the same time, the top of the tibia is prepared in a similar way. Afterwards, the worn surface is gently removed and a new metal tray is put on top of the remaining bone. This tray has a hard plastic item to make some space, which then becomes the new shock absorber between the smooth metal coverings used during the complex procedure.

Shoulder replacement surgery is a procedure usually used for the treatment of severe arthritis of the shoulder joint. Arthritis is a disease that affects the cartilage of the joints. When the cartilage starts lining wears away, the protective lining between the bones is lost; then when this happens, painful symptoms of arthritis begin.

Regarding spine surgery, this procedure may include back or neck intervention. It is currently chosen as a good option for pain and disability, caused by a clear lesion that does not respond to non-surgical treatments previously tried to relieve the bad symptoms. This type of surgery may be needed in severe cases of chronic arthritis, which is accompanied by very strong pain. Some of the most common and latest techniques on spine surgery include minimally invasive spine procedure, which involves expandable devices for lumbar spine fusion; known as very exclusive items. The great advantages of this kind of minimal invasive procedure are the application of very small incisions; less normal tissue damage; a reduced muscle retraction; and targeted treatment of pathology.

Another key procedure in the specialty is the total disc replacement. With total disc replacement surgery, specialists can offer their Patients an alternative to spinal fusion surgery for the treatment of symptomatic degenerative disc disease. This procedure’s objective is to relieve pain and preserve motion in the spine.

During total disc replacement surgery and spinal fusion procedure, the disc that generates the pain is removed, while the normal disc height is restored to keep spine healthy. Both procedures are usually effective to make pain disappear.

However, preserving motion at the treated vertebral segment may enable the spine to restore its sagittal balance, and at the same time, maintain more natural mechanics after surgery than fusing the vertebral segment. Consequently, this may potentially decelerate degeneration in healthy adjacent levels in the spine.

As regards knee arthroscopy, this is a common surgical procedure in which a joint is viewed by using a specific camera. This complex procedure gives professionals a clear view of the inside of the knee. That way, it is much easier and precise to diagnose and treat knee problems. Another advantage of the knee arthroscopy is that it currently involves technical advances that lead to high definition monitors and high resolution cameras; which at the same time, make the task a much simple one. But not only have this contribute to improve knee procedures. There are other improvements that have made arthroscopy a very effective tool to treat and cure knee problems. To have a better look at what the knee arthroscopy is about, Patients should have into account that it is done through small incisions. During the procedure, the orthopedic Surgeon inserts a small camera instrument about the size of a pen, into the knee joint which is going to be operated. This small camera sends the image to a television monitor, and it is in that monitor where the Doctor is able to see the structures of the knee in good detail. The arthroscopy is intended to repair or remove damaged tissue.