LawVHawk
Well-Known Member
What Surgery Can Do for an Athlete's Bad Break - WSJ.com
From the story:
The horrific leg injury suffered by basketball player Kevin Ware on the court Sunday is a rare event in sports, but it is more commonplace in the world of orthopedic surgeons, who regularly see such fractures among victims of car accidents and other trauma.
That's one reason why treatment for open or compound fractures—in which the bone penetrates the skin—has evolved to offer patients like Mr. Ware an excellent chance for full recovery...
...Some 40 years ago, such injuries were treated with casts and braces. Then doctors began inserting horizontal pins, which protruded from the leg, to stabilize the bone.
"In the last 20 years we've been treating this kind of injury with a titanium rod to shish-kabob the bone back to its normal alignment," said David Helfet, chief of orthopedic trauma at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York...
...The biggest concern for recovery from such injuries is infection, said Elizabeth Matzkin, an orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine expert at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston...
From the story:
The horrific leg injury suffered by basketball player Kevin Ware on the court Sunday is a rare event in sports, but it is more commonplace in the world of orthopedic surgeons, who regularly see such fractures among victims of car accidents and other trauma.
That's one reason why treatment for open or compound fractures—in which the bone penetrates the skin—has evolved to offer patients like Mr. Ware an excellent chance for full recovery...
...Some 40 years ago, such injuries were treated with casts and braces. Then doctors began inserting horizontal pins, which protruded from the leg, to stabilize the bone.
"In the last 20 years we've been treating this kind of injury with a titanium rod to shish-kabob the bone back to its normal alignment," said David Helfet, chief of orthopedic trauma at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York...
...The biggest concern for recovery from such injuries is infection, said Elizabeth Matzkin, an orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine expert at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston...