Orthopedic surgery is the branch of surgery that spans a wide range of procedures designed to correct problems affecting the human musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic treatments, including surgical and non-surgical procedures, are designed to address common skeletal problems, such as trauma, sports injuries, degenerative diseases, infections, tumors, and congenital disorders.
Other musculoskeletal disorders may manifest in symptoms, such as aches, stiffness, discomfort--and more severe cases that require a heightened surgical procedure.
Types of orthopedic treatments carried out by orthopedic surgeons can range from traction, hand reconstruction, joint replacement, spinal fusion, to amputation. Orthopedic surgeons can also treat broken bones, stains and dislocations- using general, regional, or local anesthesia.
Orthopedic surgery involves incorporating foreign material in the body, such as screws, wires, pins, tongs and prosthetics to clutch damaged bones in the proper places or, sometimes, to replace the damaged bone completely. In recent years, advanced improvements have been made in the development of joints, artificial limbs and the materials used in tissue engineering.
Orthopedic surgery risks and side effects may include mild to severe inflammation at the site where the foreign material was placed in the body, infection as the result of the surgery and damage to nerves or to the spinal cord.
Thousands of people undergo orthopedic surgery each year to recover from injuries or restore lost function of the skeletal system. Success rates of orthopedic surgery depend on the patient’s age, medical condition treated and aftercare rehabilitative therapy.
Knee Replacement surgery or knee arthroplasty is a type of an orthopedic treatment that aims to replace the weight-bearing surfaces of the knee joint to relieve the pain or a disability that hinders patients from performing the simplest of activities.
Chronic pain in the knees can be caused by a number of factors including arthritis, a fracture, break or a medical condition that weakens the joint. If patients suffering from incurring knee pain are not relieved by anti-inflammatory tablets and are still experiencing great difficulty to perform daily activities such as standing, bending and light walking; knee replacement surgery can be a viable option.
Orthopedic patients carry out the surgery by removing the damaged, diseased cartilage, tissue and bone that forms the knee joint and replacing the bone with an artificial device (prosthesis) made from metal, ceramic or plastic.
A hip replacement is an orthopedic surgical procedure that is designed to remove diseased or damaged hip joint and cartilage, replacing it with an artificial hip functioning naturally as the human hip. The majority of implanted hip joints are made of metal and plastic.
Orthopedic surgeons usually determine the size and the design of the artificial hip, depending on the patient’s height, weight and his/her medical condition. Prior to the hip replacement surgery, patients will be placed under a general or spinal anesthesia.Total hip replacement surgery replaces damaged cartilage with new joint material in a step-by-step process.
Carpal tunnel surgery is another type of orthopedic treatment which intends to treat a condition, known as carpel tunnel syndrome, affecting the main nerve connecting the wrist, hand and forearm and the meridian nerve.
The carpal tunnel is an area at the base of the hand which holds the tendons, ligaments and meridian nerve. When this nerve becomes pressured, numbness, tingling, and sometimes pain of the affected fingers and hand may occur and reach the forearm. The goal of the carpel tunnel surgery is to relieve the pressure on the median nerve in the wrist.
There are two treatment techniques which can be involved in the carpel tunnel procedure: open surgery or endoscopic surgery.
Spinal fusion surgery is a serious orthopedic procedure to fuse together two or more vertebrae in the spine. This back surgery procedure is performed to reduce spinal pain, stabilize the spine after injury, or to correct spinal cuvatures for conditions, such as scolosis. Spinal fusion surgery can also be used for medical conditions affecting the disk or after removal of tumors on the spine.
Herniated Disc Surgery
Vertebrae are the bones that form the spine which are cushioned by small, spongy discs. The function of these discs is to act as shock absorbers for the spine while keeping it nimble and flexible.
However when the disc is damaged, it may break open, a spinal disorder known as herniated disc.
Herniated disc can cause unbearable pain, numbness and weakness in the area of the body where the nerve travels.
If the herniated disc exists in the lower back, it can cause pain and numbness in the buttock and down the leg. Herniated disc surgery involves making a small incision in the skin to reach the aching desk and cut away the piece of the disc that bulges out.
This surgery is known as discetomy and can be performed in several techniques: prosthetic intervertebral disc replacement, endoscopic laser discectomy and open discectomy.
Orthopedic surgery is a serious procedure that can be costly for patients in the US and Europe, due to the complexity of the surgery and the materials used which include implants, interference screws, and bone-suture anchors. Adding up the hospital charges and surgeons fees, patients end up paying gobs of money- where they can be paying 70 percent of the cost of the procedure in an affordable medical tourist destination.
Traveling for orthopedic surgery can be a reasonable solution to the high cost of medical and surgical facilities in the US.
Rehabilitative therapy in many medical tourism countries is an appealing option to US and European patients as these destinations offer a relaxing environment to recover and heal from your orthopedic surgery peacefully.