What Are Orthopedics and Traumatology?
Traumatology is concerned with the study of the impact of various injury-risk factors on a human, the diagnosis and treatment of injuries. This specialty is closely connected to orthopedics. Orthopedics deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disorders in the musculoskeletal system. Mostly, these disorders are congenital ones, but they can also be a consequence of injuries and some conditions.
In the past, traumatology was considered one of the most extensive branches of medicine since it included almost any injury regardless of its site. Nowadays, the trauma orthopedist’s field of work has become less diverse: surgeons deal with many visceral injuries, and brain injuries are treated in close cooperation with neurologists and neurosurgeons.
Bones, joints, tendons, ligaments, and muscles make up the human musculoskeletal system. Injuries and deformities lead to functional diseases, impair the quality of life and sometimes cause cosmetic defects and lasting pain.
If you complain of pain, redness in the area of muscles, bones, and joints, and a reduced range of motion, you should consult a competent doctor. Foreign countries feature advanced injury care, and foreign doctors welcome patients from any part of the world.
The Most Common Diseases
Most often, traumatologists deal with these conditions:
- soft tissue bruises;
- bone fractures;
- subluxations and dislocations;
- brain concussion and contusion;
- sprains, tears, and complete ruptures of ligaments;
- spine fractures;
- platypodia and clubfoot;
- joint dysplasia.
Traumatology and orthopedics often deal with cases of combined conditions that require prompt and professional medical care.
Orthopedic Therapy Types
Surgery
In many cases, surgery is necessary to treat injuries and orthopedic disorders. Due to the tremendous growth of foreign medicine, traumatology, orthopedics, and other branches offer minimally invasive, effective, and safe methods of surgery. These include internal fixation used in bone fractures. Bone fragments are connected and fixed together with bone and intraosseous implants. Internal fixation techniques have moved far forward: now such treatment takes much less time. Also, doctors now can avoid many complications that used to occur quite often. They were largely associated with the patient’s immobility during a hospital stay. Nowadays, patients can enjoy special support surfaces, modern medications, and quality services of paramedical personnel, which make the treatment comfortable and even pleasant.
Another rapidly evolving area in traumatology and orthopedics is endoscopic surgery. Top-level foreign clinics offer minimally invasive surgeries using fiber-optic instrumentation as gold standard procedures. Arthroscopy is used for the diagnosis and treatment of joint diseases: after several small incisions are performed, an arthroscope equipped with a camera is inserted into the joint cavity. The camera image is displayed on the screen in the operating room, so the surgeon sees everything perfectly and can perform high-precision operations. Such technologies make it possible to leave smaller surgical wounds, reduce blood loss to almost zero, and save the patient from long hospital stay: they can go home on the same day. Such operations do not leave rough scars, which ensures a good aesthetic appearance.
If the joint is almost destroyed by lingering arthrosis, it is replaced with a high-quality prosthesis that is totally biocompatible (joint replacement). It performs the same functions as a natural joint, and the patient gets rid of pain, inflammation, and other distressing symptoms of the disease.
Specialists from Israel, Germany, Austria, and Turkey perform both routine and emergency surgeries for international patients. Wounds of any severity level are treated in the treatment or operating room; internal fixation is performed in case of compound fractures. They also perform operations on ligaments and tendons. The choice of anesthesia is based on the injury severity and other individual characteristics of each person (underlying health conditions, age, gender, etc.). During surgery, either topical anesthetics or narcosis can be used.
These orthopedic and trauma surgeries abroad are the most popular abroad:
- Internal fixation for open, closed, or other fractures. To prevent suppurative complications, all modern fixators have antimicrobial coatings, which minimize the risk of postoperative osteomyelitis and other complications.
- Removal of fixators implanted earlier (in other healthcare centers as well), which have already fulfilled their main function.
- Rebuilding bone loss with bone cement, autologous bone grafting, etc.
- Herniated disc treatment (laminectomy, discectomy, etc.)
- Scoliosis surgery using metal instrumentation to eliminate the existing spinal deformity.
- Surgery for spinal stenosis induced by herniated discs, traumas, and other diseases. This operation is performed to relieve compression of the spinal cord and its rootlets.
- Fasciectomy for Dupuytren’s contracture using minimally invasive techniques.
- Skin grafting by different methods.
- Restoration, length change, and/or transfer of muscles, ligaments, and tendons. For these purposes, a microscope and endoscopic equipment are widely used.
Non-Surgical Treatment
Orthopedists and traumatologists abroad undertake to treat the most complicated cases. They perform the most complex operations, the results of which impress specialists around the world. Hundreds of international patients go to Israel, Germany, Austria, and Turkey every year hoping to receive advanced and high-quality medical care.
Orthopedics and traumatology abroad are strongly developed: doctors take on even the hopeless cases. The most complex operations are performed every day, enabling patients to restore not only movements but also the quality of life free of pain and discomfort.
Non-surgical methods of treatment used in traumatology and orthopedics:
- closed reduction (most often used in uncomplicated non-displaced fractures);
- reduction of dislocation;
- redressment;
- skeletal extension;
- splints and external fixators;
- removable joint-immobilizers;
- surgical boots;
- massage;
- remedial gymnastics;
- various methods of physiotherapy, etc.
Rehabilitation
Rehabilitation is a set of measures aimed at restoring lost motor skills after injuries or surgeries. Rehabilitation also helps the patient to regain the sense of comfort and get used to a new life: people lose muscle mass, and their whole body weakens, especially after severe injuries and long-term treatment.
The main task of rehabilitation is the comprehensive restoration of functions, prevention of complications and relapses. Foreign medicine has greatly advanced, and skillful doctors help the patient to preserve the most precious thing they have: their health and life. However, even the most elaborate work of surgeons, traumatologists, and orthopedists cannot be effective enough without proper rehabilitation.
