The human body is a framework consisting of a musculoskeletal system that includes ligaments, tendons, bones, joints, cartilage, and connective tissues. Orthopedics is a branch of medical science that focuses on treating injuries and deformities of the body’s muscular and skeletal system.
This healthcare specialty comes to the rescue when patients complain of throbbing joint pain, knee stiffness, fractures, or non-unions of an existing fracture. Likewise, there are innumerable other musculoskeletal disorders, sports injuries, or autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis that can require an individual to visit an experienced orthopedics specialist. These medical experts help with proper diagnosis and formulate a treatment plan that involves rehabilitation approaches and surgery using orthopedic instrument sets to prevent aggravation of discomfort caused.
In the next section, we will briefly discuss various orthopedic surgeries to create awareness among patients and their loved ones. Having a slight idea of the information below will help you decide why you should never ignore and always consider consulting an orthopedic surgeon regarding your problem.
1. Bone Fracture Repair Surgery
A broken bone and a fractured bone are the same thing and are often used interchangeably. It is one of the most common reasons for undergoing orthopedic surgery. In fact, according to a study conducted in 2019, it was reported that the global number of fracture cases was approximately 178 million, which is a 33.4% increase since 1990. That certainly is a huge increase!
Examples of fractures based on location:
- Scaphoid fracture
- Clavicle fracture
- Radius and Ulna fracture
- Humerus fracture
- Pelvic fracture
- Tibia and Fibula fracture
Common causes of fractures:
- Slip and fall accidents
- Car accidents
- Sports injuries
Types of techniques to repair bone fracture:
- Internal fixation: This procedure includes the surgical insertion of an implant by the orthopedic surgeon into the broken bones to hold them in a stable place until they are repaired properly. Intramedullary nails, pins, wires, plates, and screws are a few products used in this procedure.
- External fixation: The surgeon creates a small incision to insert the wires and pins through the muscles and skin tissues to the fractured bone. These serve as an attachment to the external fixator placed outside the bony structure to be stabilized.
Please note that every orthopedic surgery is performed under general anesthesia.
2. Knee Replacement Surgery
Knee arthroplasty is a surgical procedure to remove and replace one or more knee compartments out of the three: medial/inner, lateral/outer, and patellofemoral/below the kneecap. The surgeon focuses on eliminating the damaged part of the knee joint and then changes it with an artificial knee replacement implant made up of biocompatible materials.
You will be advised of two knee surgeries: total knee replacement (TKR) and partial (unicondylar) knee replacement (UKR). In TKR, as the name suggests, an entire knee joint is removed. Similarly, in UKR, only one or two compartments are replaced.
The knee replacement implant your orthopedic surgeon inserts for a knee replacement will closely mimic the original knee. It is designed to mimic the size, structure, and functionality of the original knee joint.
3. Arthroscopy
It is a minor outpatient orthopedic surgery that is performed using an instrument named an arthroscope. The surgeons use the equipment to diagnose and treat the damage that occurs in a joint. Since it is an outpatient treatment, you can get treated and go home on the same day, unlike other surgeries.
Your doctor will make small incisions in your joint and then introduce an arthroscope through them to assess the extent of joint damage. They can also heal a wide range of ailments during arthroscopy.
4. ACL and PCL Reconstruction Surgery
The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) are the two structures that render stability to the knee. These ligaments can be injured due to their overextension caused by sports activities or any fall accidents. It is crucial to save most of the structures during surgery, so, an ACL/PCL reconstruction surgery is carried out.
An ACL/PCL reconstruction set contains various elements that help in joint fixation. It includes different screws, ACL buttons, ligament staples, and spiked washers. The screws used in the surgical procedure are designed with a lower head so that they do not irritate the soft tissues around it.
5. Hip Replacement Surgery
The surgical replacement of the hip joint is known as hip replacement, which is also called Hip Arthroplasty. This orthopedic surgery is also of two types:
- Partial hip replacement:
In this type of hip replacement, only a part will be removed and replaced with prosthesis. It is performed to remove any tumor or to repair a fracture.
- Total hip replacement:
As implied, the entire joint is replaced with hip replacement prosthesis. It is the most common type of Hip arthroplasty procedure.
6. Spinal Surgery
Back pain, spinal infections, spine deformity, spondylolisthesis, spine fractures, tumors, and degenerative spine conditions are some of the main causes of orthopedic spinal surgery. When everything else fails, it is then that the doctors navigate towards treating it surgically using spinal implants.
These orthopedic instrument sets are adaptable when placed on the spinal cord during surgery. They prevent any further damage to the spinal canal and its constituents.
A surgically treated patient can take around 6 weeks to a year for complete recovery. After the surgery, you surely will have to bear with the pain and discomfort as the effect of anesthesia fades away. You will be prescribed analgesics by your surgeon to get relief from the pain. Apart from that, a patient who has undergone this procedure should adhere to the doctor’s advice and post-management tips.
7. Femur Fracture Surgery
The femur, also known as the thigh bone, is the strongest bone of the body. A fractured femur can take a lot of time to recover properly. The majority of people who break their femur bone are because of a severe car accident or due to the weakening of bones caused by aging.
Open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) is an orthopedic surgery for repairing femur fractures. It is done using intramedullary nails, which are inserted into the medullary canal of the broken bone. The nail is fixated with the help of screws at the bottom and top of the nail. A metal plate is also placed against the bone using pins and wires to make the fracture sturdy.
8. Foot and Ankle Arthroscopy
Bunion surgery, flat foot, club foot, cavus foot, nonunions of previous fracture, and ankle fractures are the reasons leading to this surgical procedure. An ankle surgery is done due to ankle fusion, osteophytes, ankle instability, and fracture.
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Ankle fusion surgery: It is done to treat ankle arthritis. The damaged cartilage and bony structure are removed from the ankle joint to secure the ends of bones together using ankle plates. This allows the bones to grow together, causing the joint to fuse.
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Ankle fracture surgery: Surgery is mandatory to help your ankle heal properly if you break an ankle bone. Various types of screws, pins, metal plates, and wires are then used to stabilize these broken fragments of ankle bone for proper recovery.
9. Radial Head Surgery
In most cases, a radial head injury occurs only during sports activities or any accident. For example, in case you fall off your scooter or are hit by a football. The name of this surgery arises from the part of the bone near the elbow that is fractured. About 20% of elbow injuries and many elbow dislocations result in a radial head fracture.
- Type I Fracture:
It is usually not visible on the X-ray on the first day, however, is seen after 3 weeks of the injury. A few days of plaster or brace are part of the non-surgical treatment, after which elbow and wrist movement is gradually increased.
- Type II Fracture:
The type II fracture is also known as the displacement fracture. A minimally displaced radial head can be treated using splints and braces. But, when a larger piece of radial head is moved out of its place, then it should be surgically operated which would require the placement of plates and screws for fixation.
- Type III Fracture:
Fracture III is the most extreme type, as the radial head and the surrounding tissues are damaged. Surgery is always recommended to heal and repair the broken bones. The entire radial head might have to be removed if the damage is severe. A prosthetic radial head might be implanted in these situations.
10. Craniomaxillofacial Surgery
Craniomaxillofacial surgery is a surgical procedure that helps in treating trauma and deformities in the hard tissue of the maxillofacial (face and jaw) and cranial part (head). These bony structure defects and injuries can result in problems with speaking or eating, which can be a huge inconvenience.
Most craniofacial birth-related deformities can be detected and treated early, which ensures a better prognosis. The cranial, mid-face, and mandible implants are used to rebuild and restore the distorted bony structure of the head and face. Depending on the cause of damage or abnormality, the diagnosis and type of surgery may vary.
Bottom Line
Summing it all up, we can certainly conclude that orthopedic surgeries form a major part of the healthcare system. The musculoskeletal system is a structure that safeguards your internal organs from any external impactful damage. It also provides the needed stability and support for the body to move.
Thus, it is of utmost importance to ensure that one should never delay such crucial surgeries on the pretext of insufficient time or negligence. Also, the win-win situation here is the advent of orthopedic instrument sets in the medical space which has made it easier for patients to deal with problems of joints, bones, muscles, and ligaments using its broad variety of products.