Orthopaedics is a field of medicine involved with the congenital or acquired abnormalities and deformities of the musculoskeletal system and their treatment.
Musculoskeletal diseases include
- diseases of the limb bones, joints and sinews;
- some muscular diseases and
- deformities of the vertebrae and the surrounding soft tissue.
When the various conservative treatments and therapies are not enough for the treatment of these deformities or diseases,surgery becomes unavoidable.
As a consequence of technical-technological development, huge advance has been made in the fields of both surgical procedures and the quality of the techniques and materials used.
What is referred to as minimally invasive surgical procedure, increasingly frequently applied in orthopaedic interventions, too, has been increasingly gaining ground. The essence of this procedure is that
- the area affected by surgery is smaller, i.e. small incisions are made, while
- muscles are spared since the area affected by surgery is accessed by the separation of muscles, whereby
- tissue damage is significantly reduced.
Thus, recovery involves less pain and complications and the rehabilitation period is considerably shortened.
The type of anaesthesia applied during surgery is determined by the type of the surgical intervention and the patient’s physical and health condition.
- In the case of local anaesthesia, the feeling of pain and the transmission of stimuli by nerves in a certain limited part of the body are blocked without general anaesthesia. There are several subtypes of local anaesthesia; its application involves fewer risks and complications.
- When regional anaesthesia is applied, the transmission of stimuli is blocked between the spinal cord and the sensory nerve ending, without general anaesthesia. The most frequently applied procedure is anaesthesia around the spinal cord (epidural and spinal anaesthesia).
- During general anaesthesia the patient is sound asleep and is administered analgesics. Anaesthetic agents are administered intravenously or through a mask.
Orthopaedic surgery is followed by rehabilitation, the aim of which is to help patients recover their health and continue their everyday lives as soon as possible.
- As a first step, early rehabilitation takes place, started immediately after surgery, within the framework of hospital treatment.
- This is followed by outpatient rehabilitation, when the patient regularly attends rehabilitation treatment for as long as necessary.
- Depending on the surgery, rehabilitation may be complemented by a series of gymnastic exercises compiled by a physiotherapist, to be done at home.
- Certain intervention may require what is referred to as programmed rehabilitation, which the patient is recommended to repeat at given intervals.
Rehabilitation programmes after orthopaedic surgery are always tailor-made by our specialists.
