What is Orthopedics – Types Orthopedic Surgeries
Orthopedics or orthopedic surgery is the treatment of conditions that involve the musculoskeletal system. Doctors and surgeons use surgical and non-surgical means to treat a variety of conditions. These conditions include but are not limited to treat sports trauma, spinal injury and degenerative diseases. If you believe you are a potential candidate for orthopedic surgery, you should first consult your physician and start by pursuing less invasive methods of treatment.
What is Orthopedic Surgery?
Orthopedic surgery is a branch of surgery that relates to the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use specialized methods to treat a wide array of musculoskeletal trauma such as spine diseases, degenerative diseases, and other types of chronic or acute injuries. This may be seen as a more extreme method of surgery, but it is actually quite common and most surgeons are capable of performing these operations in a minimally invasive fashion.
Some Common Types of Orthopedic Surgery
A common type of orthopedic surgery is arthroscopy or arthroplasty. This involves the restructuring of ligaments through artificial means. This is necessary when a patient has a bone or joint that is damaged and needs to be restructured or replaced. A common type of this is knee replacement surgery.
Orthopedic surgery has become more common in the United States in the past 16 years. Between 2001 and 2016, the percentage of hospital procedures that involved orthopedic surgery jumped from 17.9% to 24.2%.
There are a few main types of orthopedic surgeries that you should know about. Some of these are self explanatory, but we will provide a brief explanation for each.
Spine Surgery: There are many ways to deal with lower back pain, but as a last resort, a patient can sign up for spine surgery to correct issues with the spine.
Osteotomy Surgery: Osteotomy surgery is any type of surgery that cuts or shortens bones. This is used if you are experiencing joint pain in between the bones.
Arthroscopy surgery: Arthroscopy surgery is a minimally invasive surgery to repair a damaged joint. This can be prescribed to anyone with joint inflam
mation or joint injury that has occurred over time.
Joint replacement surgery: Joint replacement surgery is when damaged or diseased portions of the joints are surgically replaced with new artificial joints.
Sacroiliac (Si) joint fusion: Sacroiliac (Si) joint fusion surgery involves the fusing of your sacroiliac joint so it becomes one immobile unit.
ACL reconstruction: ACL reconstruction surgery is a pretty common operation, particularly for athletes. It essentially involves the repair of the ligament that connects the shin bone (tibia) with the hip bone (femur).
Total knee replacement: Total knee replacement surgery occurs when a surgeon removes part of the knee that is damaged or diseased and replaces it with an artificial joint made from metal and plastic. These are then attached to the bone using a special type of acrylic cement.
Some Orthopedic Surgery Detail and Guide
Orthopedic surgeons are people who specialize in orthopedic surgery. To become an accredited orthopedic surgeon, you need to attend 4 years of undergraduate school, 4 years of medical school and a 5-year residency. After this, a surgeon must then pass a licensing exam. In addition to academic accreditations, surgeons must also demonstrate tremendous dexterity and skill with a scalpel. You can check the experience level of surgeons in your area by going to https://health.usnews.com/doctors/location-index/orthopedic-surgeons.
What is Spine Surgery?
Spine surgery involves creating an incision in a part of the back and then operating on one or more vertebrae of the spine. This is a rather invasive surgery, and should only be taken as a last resort. The patients that sign up for spine surgery often have tried less serious interventions with no success. Spine surgery can make sense for those who have lower back pain so severe, it prohibits them from living their life.
Things you Need to Know Before Spine Surgery:
Spine surgery is a very serious undertaking and should only be used as a last resort. If you are considering whether or not spine surgery is right for you, consider whether or not you have tried all other options. Start with the most simple and side effect-free ways to manage back pain like stretching, moderate, low impact exercise, and physical therapy. If these methods are not working after months of effort, perhaps you can ask your doctor if spine surgery is right for you, and ask him/her about the risks and benefits of such an operation.
A vast majority of people that undergo spine surgery report minimally, if any, complications. Some of the complications include reaction to drugs or anesthetic, bleeding, infection, blood clots, and in rare instances heart attack or stroke. For the most part, patients report being able to go back to work, feeling more physically fit, mood improvement, enhanced comfort, and improved productivity.
What is Osteotomy Surgery?
Sometimes due to either a chronic or acute issue, the bones and joints of your body do not line up. This can cause some discomfort and it may be possible to fix it with osteotomy surgery. To may sure the bones and joints fit together more comfortably, the bones may need to be reshaped slightly. This is often a type of surgery performed on older or middle-aged individuals, but many young and healthy people choose this type of surgery to delay or prevent an even more serious condition down the road.
Things you Need to Know Before Osteotomy Surgery:
After receiving X-rays, your doctor may determine that a type of osteotomy surgery needs to be performed. A question you may want to ask is about the different options of anesthetic. You can either undergo general anesthetic or if the surgery happens low enough you can elect to use a spinal tap. General anesthetic will be an unconscious procedure and the spinal tap will allow you to remain conscious but not feel anything below the waist.
After the osteotomy surgery, you may be pretty sore in the area, so make sure you take enough rest. You will also want to keep weight off of your bones following the procedure.
What is Arthroscopy surgery?
Arthroscopy surgery is essentially just joint surgery. This surgery will be prescribed to patients that have a condition related to the joints and not the bones. Because the joints tend to be smaller than bones, this procedure tends to be far less invasive but it can still be quite a serious procedure. This is another instance where you should first consider what other options are available to you before you elect arthroscopy surgery.
Things you Need to Know Before Arthroscopy Surgery:
Luckily, this tends to be a quick procedure performed at a hospital or outpatient operating room, meaning you will get to go home the same day. The type of anesthetic used for this procedure can vary from general anesthesia to simply numbing the area the surgeon operates on. The surgeon will then make a small incision and slide a small camera inside to operate on the area. This allows the surgeon to get a better view of the problem and decide what type of operation (if any) is needed.
What is Joint Replacement Surgery?
Joint replacement surgery is a slightly different version of joint surgery that involves actually replacing portions of the joints. This is important if the problem is with the joint itself. If the joint becomes damaged or diseased, it is possible that it needs to be replaced with man-made parts. This type of surgery can often make people that suffer from joint pain able to move and feel better.
Things you Need to Know Before Joint Replacement Surgery:
The procedure of joint replacement surgery is relatively straightforward and minimally invasive. First, you will go under some type of anesthetic, the surgeon will replace a portion of the joint with some type of man-made structure and then you will be placed in a recovery room until the effects of the anesthetic wear off completely.
Before you opt to take the surgery route, you may want to talk with your doctor about some of the other options you have available to you. These options may include walking aides such as a cane or walker, an exercise program, physical therapy or certain types of medication.
What is Trigger Finger Release Surgery?
Trigger finger can leave either the finger or the thumb stuck in an off-balance position, and sometimes requires surgery in order to fix it. If other non-surgical procedures have proven to be ineffective, sometimes surgery is required to fix the problem.
Things you Need to Know Before Trigger Finger Release Surgery:
Trigger finger is also called stenosing tenosynovitis and it causes the fingers to get stuck on a joint. To fix this condition with surgical means, the surgeon will make a small incision to cut the sheath of the tendon giving it more room to move. Once the joint is free to move, the situation can usually be resolved.
What is Sacroiliac (si) Joint Fusion Surgery?
Your sacroiliac joint (or si joint) is the part of your body where your sacrum meets your hip bone. This joint isn’t responsible for very much motion, but it is helpful for it to remain slightly mobile in order to act as a shock absorber between the lower body and the torso. This joint was found to be the source of 15% to 30% of lower back pain. This is even more common in woman that were recently pregnant due to a rearrangement of their pelvis following childbirth. Sometimes doctors recommend this joint simply be fused together to reduce the lower back pain experienced by patients.
Things you Need to Know Before (si) Joint Fusion Surgery:
If you have severe lower back, groin or pelvis pain that is unable to be treated through non-surgical methods, you may be a candidate for si joint fusion surgery. This should only be taken as an option if the pain you experience prevents you from working, or doing the things you enjoy most.
In case you are curious how the operation is performed, a small incision is first made in the buttock and then multiple bridges are placed in between the two bones to stabilize the joint. This prevents the movement that previously caused pain in the patient. Si joint fusion surgery is minimally invasive, but still should only be considered as a last resort.
What is ACL Reconstruction Surgery?
The anterior cruciate ligament (or ACL) is something that all athletes are all too familiar with. This is the joint that connects the shin bone with the thigh bone, and it can be damaged through rigorous athletic activity such as side stepping or crossover movements. If this ligament tears, it can cause the entire knee to give way and can require a pretty serious operation to repair it.
What is unique about this procedure is that it involves what’s known as a graft, or replacement tissue either from the patients own body (autograft) or from the body of a donor (allograft). The most common place for the graft to be taken from is either the kneecap tendon or the hamstring tendon.
In order to perform ACL reconstruction surgery, the surgeon will first make a small incision in the knee. They will then place a small camera inside the patients knee to get a better look at the area throughout the operation. This is also an opportunity for the surgeon to examine other parts of the knee for further damage. If you are receiving an autograft, the surgeon will most likely remove the joint from one part of your leg and replace it in the other all during the same operation. The new tissue will be attached to the bone in the same place as your old ACL.
Things you Need to Know Before ACL Reconstruction Surgery:
Before the surgery, there are a few steps you can take to ensure that the procedure is as safe as possible. First, make sure your doctor has an updated list of all the drugs you are taking with or without a prescription. Your doctor may ask you to refrain from taking medications that will make it harder for your blood to clot. If you have diabetes, heart disease or another serious medical condition for which you currently receive care for, your doctor may want to speak with the person who treats you. You may want to refrain from smoking or drinking 2 weeks prior to the procedure, as this can slow down bone and wound healing.
After the ACL reconstruction surgery, you may need to wear a knee brace for 1-4 weeks. Unfortunately, this injury will most likely put you out for the athletic season. Make sure if you do attempt to do any athletic training, you do so under medical supervision. Typically, it is 4-6 months before you make a full return to activities and sports. For sports like soccer, basketball and football, you may need between 9-12 months of recovery.
What is Total Knee Replacement Surgery?
Total knee replacement surgery is one of the most common types of bone surgeries in the United States. 600,000 of these surgeries are performed every year, mostly due to pain caused by severe arthritis. During this surgery, the surgeon makes a small incision in the knee and then removes the damaged part of the knee to replace it with an artificial part made out of metal and plastic.
Things you Need to Know Before Total Knee Replacement Surgery:
When total knee replacement surgery is needed, it is normally because of osteoarthritis, an age-related condition that causes the deterioration of the cartilage between the two bones. When the cartilage breaks down, it can create a lot of pain that is extremely difficult to treat without surgery. When this is the case, total knee replacement surgery is the only option for many people.
In addition to total knee replacement surgery, there is also partial knee replacement surgery. This is a possible route when one side of the joints are healthy. This is normally an option for younger patients that have strong knee ligaments and more cartilage. The benefits of partial knee replacement surgery over total knee replacement surgery is that you don’t need such a large incision.
You may also only require a cartilage restoration. This is a possible route when the cartilage is the only part of the knee that has become damaged. The cartilage can either be replaced with a living cartilage graft or cells that can grow into cartilage.
The total knee construction surgery can take 1-2 hours, and the surgery has become so precise that doctors can now choose from a variety of implants to match your height and weight and maximize comfort. These implants allow for easy movement and can reduce the amount of pain the patient experiences in everyday life.
How Can I Find the Best Orthopedics Surgeons Near Me?
When you chose a procedure as serious as orthopedic surgery, you want to make sure you chose someone you can trust. It is not enough to simply check google maps and find the closest surgeon to you. One way you can do it is ask for the opinion of a close friend that has had a similar operation. Sometimes it is nice to hear a testimonial from someone you trust. Another way is to check a local listing and ranking from U.S News : https://health.usnews.com/doctors/location-index/orthopedic-surgeons
Here you can select your location, and find a great list of accredited surgeons in your area.
Request an Appointment for Your Orthopedic Surgery in Chicago
If you live in Chicago, you may want to contact La Clinica SC, a great care center for Orthopedic surgery. Here you can schedule a free consultation and speak with a few of the specialists to decide which procedure is right for you. You may find out that you do not need surgery at all, in which case they also have an excellent center for physical therapy. If it turns out that the situation does require surgery, you will be in capable hands there as well. If the person you are speaking with cannot assist you, they will absolutely be able to connect you with someone who can.
Here is their phone number and website: 773- 278- 9525
