In Macomb County, your joint reconstruction experts at Movement Orthopedics perform numerous state-of-the-art surgeries. These operations relieve pain, increase mobility, and restore the full lives our patients deserve. What’s involved in joint reconstruction? Let’s look at some details, so you’re fully informed.
Why Would I Need Joint Reconstruction?
You qualify for joint reconstruction when an injury or degenerative joint condition impairs:
- Your quality of life
- Causes chronic pain
- Changes your ability to walk
- Reduces the performance of your routine tasks of daily living
- Affects your athletic performance
Also, you must be in good overall health with realistic expectations of your joint function and mobility post-operatively. A detailed plan of rehabilitation and physical therapy follows most joint reconstruction. Both modalities help you increase strength and endurance, and teach you how to use your operated joint safely and effectively.
Does Joint Reconstruction Mean Joint Replacement?
These days, people use the terms joint reconstruction and joint replacement interchangeably. However, the procedures are different.
Joint reconstruction surgeries remodel and repair joints damaged by arthritis, injury, or accident. The patient suffers with limited mobility, chronic pain, and reduced range of motion. Accordingly, the orthopedic surgeon in Clinton Township performs an operation which removes bone chips, spurs or calcifications, repairs ligament tears, resurfaces joint cartilage, and more. Examples include:
- Osteotomy to remove small portions of a bone to facilitate smooth, stable movement and weight-bearing
- Synovectomy to remove the inflamed or damaged lining from a hip or knee joint
- Joint fusion, or arthrodesis, to stop or limit the movement in an unstable joint, such as the ankle
- Tendon and ligament repair (torn rotator cuff in the shoulder or ACL in the knee)
Conversely, joint replacement entails removal of all or part of a diseased or damaged hip, knee, shoulder, or ankle. Often, the patient has tried medications, physical therapy, and other surgical options only to find the orthopedic condition, and its limitations, have progressed. That’s where joint replacement comes into play.
During joint replacement surgery in Clinton Township, the orthopedic surgeon uses an open or small-incision surgical technique to remove the damaged elements of a joint and replaces them with synthetic components which function much like a natural, healthy joint.
For instance, a hip with advanced arthritis may receive a new socket in the pelvis and a new titanium femoral head (top of the thigh bone). A knee may be fully or partially replaced to include the surfaces of the shin and thigh bones and the cartilage in between them. This may be accomplished via robotically-assisted surgery which features small incisions, fewer sutures, less pain, and quicker recovery time than traditional knee arthroplasty.
Which Kind of Surgery Is Right For Me?
That’s a question you and your orthopedic surgeon at Movement Orthopedics will answer together. Our joint surgeon, Dr. Jeffrey Carrolll, will examine your knee and do digital imaging as needed. He’ll ask you about your symptoms and how they impact your daily life. From there, he’ll put together a treatment plan suited to your age, lifestyle, and potential recovery.
How Is The Surgery Performed?
Many patients qualify for surgeries that are performed on an outpatient basis with anesthesia administered and monitored by a fully qualified anesthesiologist. Depending on the surgery, you may require a catheter which will be removed in the recovery area afterwards. Incisions, and how they are closed (staples or sutures), depending on the kind of surgery performed.
Afterward, patients are up and walking as soon as possible to avoid complications, such as blood clots. Most undergo a program of physical therapy at our spacious, on-site facility.
Learn More From the Joint Surgery Experts
At Movement Orthopedics, Dr. Jeffrey Carroll and our experienced team help scores of people determine how they can return to full, functional, and comfortable lives. If you’re ready to explore joint reconstruction, contact our Clinton Township office at (586) 436-3785, and a friendly staff member will arrange your consultation. Or, use our online appointment request form. We look forward to delivering an excellent result for you and your joints.
