How Technological Advances Have Changed The Role of the Orthopaedic Surgeon
The sub-speciality of medicine known as orthopaedics is ancient. However, the early Roman and Greek practitioners were limited to treating fractures, amputating the affected limbs when they were too severe, and correcting spinal deformities in children for almost twenty centuries. The first significant advances in orthopaedic surgery were only made possible by advances in the prevailing technology. Today, a typical orthopaedic surgeon routinely performs procedures that those ancient predecessors would have thought impossible.
This article will examine some of this cutting-edge technology, how it has transformed the nature and scope of joint surgery and how its practitioners worldwide are applying it to improve the lives of millions of patients every year.
Game-Changing Technologies Leveraged by the Orthopaedic Surgeon
While almost as dangerous as it was helpful, Wilhelm Röntgen’s first X-ray machine significantly impacted many medical specialities, including orthopaedics. The ability to view the position and extent of a fracture proved invaluable in planning its treatment. However, although its modern equivalent is far safer and more powerful, subsequent advances have had an even more significant impact. Consider the following:
- The arthroscope: What began in 1912 as a simple tube illuminated by candlelight and inserted into a joint to view its internal structure for diagnostic purposes has evolved beyond recognition. The modern arthroscope employs a system of lenses, LED lights and fibre optics to capture and transmit a full-colour magnified image to a monitor screen.
Furthermore, in addition to eliminating the need to expose the entire joint to inspect it, it was not long before an enterprising orthopaedic surgeon reached beyond its diagnostic role to perform keyhole joint surgery. Once in position, the arthroscope allows the surgical team to monitor and guide the miniature instruments inserted via two or three additional tiny incisions.
- Durable biocompatible materials: The first attempts by an orthopaedic surgeon to perform a joint replacement (arthroplasty) The materials used to prepare the prosthetic parts were either insufficiently robust or rejected by the body. Advances in materials science provided new and improved alternatives, including stainless steel, plastics and ceramics, and polymethylmethacrylate bone cement to secure them in place. These materials have since been used in millions of successful joint replacements.
The components of modern prosthetic joints made from these new materials have the potential to last a lifetime if their recipients observe a few simple precautions. Furthermore, many total and partial knee and hip replacements are now performed arthroscopically. This minimally invasive approach avoids the need to expose the joint fully, thus reducing the risk of excessive bleeding and infection and speeding post-operative recovery.
- Robot-assisted joint surgery: Although total knee replacement is generally regarded as one of the most successful orthopaedic interventions, its outcomes depend on the accuracy with which the femoral and tibial components are aligned. Today, a robotic surgical assistant can gather patient data, create a personalised procedure plan and guide the surgeon’s hand during its implementation.
All the procedures described above are available from a leading South African Orthopaedic Surgeon at the Wilgers Life Hospital in Pretoria. Contact our orthopaedic team to learn more about our state-of-the-art facilities and world-class joint surgery.