Orthopaedic surgery is the specialty that takes care of bone and joint disorders. This conditions can be traumatic, degenerative, neoplasic or infectious in origin.
The traumatic skeletal disorders are frequent in all ages, causing bone fractures, joint dislocations, combinations of fractures and dislocations as well as ligament lesions alone, like knee cruciate ligament tears. New ways to treat fractures and ligament problems have been developed in the last years making big improvements in patient recovery.
The degenerative conditions are more frequent in the elderly population and the best example of that is osteoarthritis, which incapacitates many people and frequently requires joint replacement. The hips and knees are by far the most commonly replaced joints, but other joints like the shoulder, elbow, wrist and ankles have also been replaced successfully.
The neoplasic conditions that affect the skeletal system causes bone destruction and can be benign or malignant.
It´s treatment can go from a simple observation to a radical surgical procedure associated to quimotherapy or radiotherapy.
Infections can affect bone and joint in a way causing a severe problem that requires surgical procedures and antibiotic treatment for a long time. Infection also can be a secondary complication of surgical procedures and its one of the worst complications we can have but fortunately it's frequency is low with all the precautions we take to prevent it.
