It's little wonder that minimally invasive orthopedic surgery is so popular. "There's less tissue injury and quicker recovery," states Dr. Thomas Brockmeyer of the Orthopedic Group at Uniontown Hospital.
Arthroscopy is the name of the surgical procedure that uses small incisions and specially-designed instruments inserted through pencil-thin tubes to allow orthopedists to view, diagnose and treat problems inside a joint.
"For the last 20 years or so, we've used arthroscopy to remove or repair cartilage at the knee or shoulder," says Dr. Brockmeyer. And today, due to popularity with patients, the scope of the procedure is ever widening.
"We're involved in developing new techniques to use arthroscopy," Dr. Brockmeyer notes. "In some trauma cases, we're now using arthroscopy to implant screws and plates to fix bone fractures of the knees and ankles."
According to Dr. Brockmeyer, the trend towards smaller incisions is also being used in spine surgery and in joint reconstruction for selected patients.
So, are the new procedures successful? Dr. Brockmeyer points out that patients have been very satisfied. "In some cases," he notes, "I've seen patients do in the recovery room what it used to take two weeks of rehab to do."
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