Orthopaedics
The term orthopedic comes from ancient Greek and means something like "The doctrine of the upright child".
The term was introduced in the 18th century by the Parisian pediatrician Nicolas Andry: he compared an orthopedic surgeon with a gardener who ties a crooked tree to a stake to help it grow straight.
As a sub-area of surgery, orthopedics primarily deals with the musculoskeletal system of the human body, i.e. the skeleton, muscles, joints, ligaments and tendons. Vessels, nerves, bursa and intervertebral discs also belong to this complex.
Orthopedics and trauma surgery, respectively traumatology, merge.
The task of orthopedics is the treatment of acute and chronic diseases, congenital diseases and the prevention of diseases from the group of orthopedis.
In this respect, the promotion of the healthy development of the musculoskeletal system as well as the prevention and also the treatment of degenerative diseases are in the foreground.
The following acute and chronic diseases fall into the sub-area of orthopedics, to name a few:
- Sprains
- Broken bones
- osteoporosis
- Bone infections
- Bone necrosis
- Tendon tears
- Torn ligaments
- Bursitis
- Herniated discs
- Tennis elbow
- Golfer arm
- Ruptured muscles
- Meniscus damage
- Lime shoulder
- Lumbago (sciatica)
- Whiplash
- Joint infections
- Arthrosis
- Heel spur
- Ingrown big toenail
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Hip dysplasia
Treatment can be conservative or surgical.
Physical treatments with laser light, ultrasound, direct and alternating current, magnetic field therapy and shock wave therapy belong to the conservative methods.
Their aim is essentially to promote blood circulation and nutrient supply in the effected area.
Chronic back pain can also be treated by targeted drug injections to the intervertebral joints (facet therapy) or directly to the nerve root.
If conservative therapy is unsuccessful, there are minimally invasive surgical procedures that promise success in eliminating or alleviating pain, especially in shoulder, elbow, hip, knee, ankle and foot disorders, and can thus significantly improve the quality of life.
Such interventions can usually be performed on an outpatient basis.
These include, for example, Emmetplasty for ingrown big toenails or bursa removal from the elbow joint for chronic bursitis.
If conservative and minimally invasive therapies fail or cannot be used at all, the only option is invasive surgery, especially in cases of severe arthrosis, accidents or severe degenerative wear and tear.
This is where surgical treatment has its field of application:
For the shoulder:
- Calcific shoulder surgery
- Tendon suture of the rotator cuff
- Surgery for clavicle fractures
- Decompression for impingement syndrome
- Shoulder joint replacement
Elbow surgery:
- Tennis elbow surgery
- Bursa removal
In the hand:
- Ring ligament splitting in fast finger
- Carpal tunnel splitting for carpal tunnel syndrome
- Removal of Dupuytren’s contracture
- Ganglion removal
- Stiffening operation
In the spine:
- Exposure of nerves (decompression)
- Intervertebral disc surgery (removal of herniated disc)
- Vertebral joint sclerotherapy
- Exposure of the spinal canal
- Stiffening operation
- Stabilisation surgery
- CT-guided
For the hip:
- Hip arthroplasty with short stem
- Total hip replacement
- Hip prosthesis replacement in case of loosening of the same
- Treatment of infections on hip prostheses
At the knee:
- Arthroscopy
- Meniscus surgery
- Cruciate ligament reconstruction
- Bursa removal
- Axial and leg length corrections in children
- Complete knee prosthesis
- Knee replacement
- Knee prosthesis replacement in case of loosening
- Half-slide prosthesis
- Treatment of infections of knee prostheses
For the ankle joint
- Fusion surgery
For foot and toes:
- Claw toe surgery
- Hallux valgus surgery (big toe joint surgery)
- Hammertoe surgery
- Metatarsal surgery
- Removal of heel spurs
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