Orthopaedic Surgeons Providing Arthroscopy and Joint Replacements Near Lynnwood
Our knowledge of medicine, and of the means to treat injury and disease, has grown exponentially over the course of the last 50 years. Advances have affected all of the various medical sub-disciplines, and even led to the formation of a number of new ones. No longer limited to reducing fractures and correcting poor posture, today’s orthopaedic specialists, whether practicing in Lynnwood or Los Angeles, need to be skilled surgeons, and are required to have extensive experience of a wide range of procedures and the relevant supporting technology.
Their continued involvement in the treatment of trauma patients is, of course, a given. However, in this area also, new techniques have made it possible to repair broken limbs so badly damaged that amputation would have been the only viable option at one time. Alongside the emergency admissions, the number of patients who are now seen for elective procedures has been growing steadily. The growth in this area has also been the consequence of new techniques and newly developed materials. In elective cases, the surgery is planned and carried out by orthopaedic surgeons in Lynnwood and other parts of the country, taking into account the condition and convenience of the patient, the availability of unencumbered staff and an available theatre slot.
Hip and knee replacements, both partial and total, have been performed for a number of decades, and research has resulted in a series of innovations that have enabled the performance and longevity of prosthetic joints to be improved to the point where the lifespan of metal and polymer implants is anything from a minimum of ten years to as long as twenty.
Rheumatoid arthritis, resulting in the accumulation of excess synovial fluid, and old injuries will often lead to the need for a joint replacement. However, the pathology prompting orthopaedic surgeons in Lynnwood and hospitals worldwide to fit prosthetic joints is osteoarthritis. This is a degenerative disease that causes the breakdown of cartilage and bone in the joints, leading to pain and eventual immobility. First treated with prescription painkillers and steroids, when these are no longer effective, a partial or total replacement of the affected hip, knee or shoulder joint with a prosthetic joint will, with the patients consent, usually be the next step.
The technical name for these procedures is arthroplasty. Partial and total hip, knee, and shoulder joint replacements are now routinely undertaken by one of South Africa’s leading orthopaedic surgeons at the Life Wilgers Hospital near the suburb of Lynnwood. Prompted by its extensive record of success in this demanding and growing field, the specialist centre receives numerous referrals for patients in need of arthroplasty from all over South Africa, as well as from a number of overseas countries.
Another of the major advances in this discipline has been the development of a procedure known as arthroscopy. Intended as a diagnostic tool, the procedure employs a thin tube that houses a light and a miniature video camera in its tip. Inserted into a joint through a tiny incision, it provides orthopaedic surgeons in Lynnwood and elsewhere with a real-time view of any damage to the articulating surfaces of the joint and its surrounding tissue – something that a normal X-ray simply cannot match.
More significant, however, is the fact that this live view will often reveal a condition that can be dealt with immediately. Instead of conducting a second and more invasive procedure that would involve exposing the entire joint and a significantly longer recovery time, it is possible to complete some repairs and even partial replacements arthroscopically by means of additional minor incisions through which to insert the necessary instruments. Skill in this minimally invasive keyhole surgery is just one of the many sound reasons for the growing appeal of orthopaedic surgeons in Lynnwood and around the world.