Risks of Total Hip Replacement Baltimore MD

Medical procedures and technologies have undergone so many advances in the past half of a century that it is nearly impossible to keep up.  One really amazing technology that became widely available during the 1970's is the artificial joint.  Large joints like the hip and the knee became available first.  At this time, it is possible to replace many other of the body's numerous smaller and more complex joints.  While total hip replacement Baltimore MD is a frequent choice for people who are suffering from pain and disability due to an injury or a degenerative bone disease, and it most often occurs without incident, it does carry some risks.

Hip Replacement Baltimore Risks

• Not all orthopedic surgeons are created equal.  Risks of hip replacement surgery Baltimore MD can be minimized by investigating a wide range of different doctors before choosing one.  It may be somewhat inconvenient to travel a distance away from home to have surgery, yet having a good outcome for something as important as a major joint replacement surgery is certainly worth the extra effort.
• Some hip surgeries have outcomes that are not 100% clinical failures, yet they are also not completely successful.  A surgery that is effective at relieving some pain and disability may also result in some other unwanted effects.  Nerve damage is a possibility.  So is ending up with one leg that is shorter than the other, a permanent limp, or future difficulties with spinal alignment.  A very small number of patients end up with a completely or partially paralyzed hip.
• There are risks anytime a general anesthesia is administered for any surgical procedure.  The drugs needed to produce complete unconsciousness and insensibility during the procedure are very strong and can have unintended consequences on the body.  This is especially true of older individuals who may have co-existing health conditions like high blood pressure and heart disease.  Some of this risk can be mitigated by having a spinal block that does not produce unconsciousness, but stops all feeling below the waist.  Obviously, though, not everyone wants to be awake for their hip replacement surgery, even if they cannot feel anything.

Preparing for a Total Hip Replacement Baltimore MD

Several hundred thousand people have successful total hip replacement Baltimore MD surgeries every year in the United States.  While complications with this kind of surgery are always a possibility, they are certainly not statistically likely.  There are, however, a few things you can do before your surgery to make sure that your recovery is as smooth and stress-free as possible.

Things to Do Before Hip Replacement Baltimore

• Buy a reaching aid and learn how to use it.  This is a simple device that extends your reach by putting a clamping device at the end of an extension.  You can open and close the clamp using a squeezable trigger that is located in the hand grip.  Any orthopedic supply store or website would have these for just a few dollars.  Many compounding pharmacies carry them also.

• Get railings and hand grips installed in your home.  Railings are useful for making stairs and uneven surfaces safe for everyone, whether they are recovering from an orthopedic surgery or not.  Many older folks like to install grab bars inside of their showers or in other places in the bathroom for extra support.

• Talk with your doctor about pain medications.  You will be using these for a few weeks after surgery, so it is important to plan this part of your treatment in a way that feels comfortable for you.  If some kinds of pain relievers, like aspirin-based medications, upset your stomach, your doctor will be able to trial alternatives with you before surgery.

• Move your bed to a more convenient location.  If your bedroom is upstairs, you may be more comfortable sleeping on the ground floor until you have fully recovered from surgery.  This is particularly true if you have to go up or down stairs to reach the bathroom.

• Arrange for someone to drive you to necessary appointments and do essential errands for you.  You will not be able to drive for at least six weeks after surgery.  Putting other services, like grocery delivery, in place before your operation will reduce stress during your recovery.

• Learn as much as you can about the total hip replacement surgery Baltimore MD you will be having before it is scheduled.  Click here for more information.

Preparing for Total Knee Replacement Baltimore MD

So, you have decided to join more than 600,000 people in the United States who will improve the quality of their lives by having a total knee replacement Baltimore MD.  Chances are, you will not regret it.  Over 90% of those who have had this procedure recommend it.  There are a few things you will need to do before your knee replacement surgery Baltimore which can be learned about by visiting websites for medical teams like http://www.medstarunionortho.org/:

• It is possible your orthopedic surgeon will request that you have a complete physical examination with your primary care doctor a few weeks before the procedure.  This is to make sure that you are not likely to have complications from general anesthesia.
• If you have a chronic health condition such as coronary artery disease, your surgeon may request that you be seen by a specialist in this condition, also to make sure that you are healthy enough to have a reasonable expectation of avoiding complications during surgery.
• Specific medical tests may be prescribed, including blood work, a urinalysis, or an electrocardiogram.  It is important to schedule and complete these tests in as timely a manner as possible.
• Your orthopedic surgeon will ask you about medications you take regularly and give you advice about whether you should stop taking them a few days before surgery, and when to resume them after the operation.
• If you need dental work, it is advisable to have this completed before your knee replacement.  In a few rare cases, bacteria have traveled from the site of dental work to the knee surgery site, causing serious infections.
• A urinary evaluation may be requested if you have a history of frequent urinary tract infections.  Because a catheter will be placed in your bladder during surgery, you will have a slightly higher risk of developing a UTI during early recovery.
• You will need to plan for care at home after your surgery.  There will be a social worker or care coordinator available at the hospital to help you arrange for professional home care support if you do not have friends or family who are able to serve in this capacity.
• Home adaptations like shower bars and stairway handrails should be installed before your surgery date.

Support Healthy Bones to Avoid Total Hip Replacement Baltimore MD

Since the first version of a total hip replacement Baltimore MD was performed in 1968, millions and millions of individuals have been able to benefit from this pain (and disability) relieving procedure.  While it is wonderful that this operation along with other joint replacement surgeries, are available for those who need them, there are a few habits and health-related choices that everyone can make to increase the odds of staying out of the operating room, even as they age.

Healthy Habits to Support Bones and Avoid Hip Replacement Baltimore

• All women are at a particularly high risk for osteoporosis.  Their risk increases at menopause when the female hormone Estrogen naturally declines.  A bone density screening is a painless test that any primary care physician can prescribe to determine the condition of skeletal structures.  It is recommended for all women over the age of 65, and those who are younger who have specific risk factors.
• Supporting healthy bones is just one more reason to put out that cigarette.  It is well known that cigarette smoke contains many toxic substances, including nicotine and free radicals that increase the risk of bone fractures.  It is never too late to quit, either.  Even women who stop smoking permanently in their 40's and 50's tend to show increased bone density a year after stopping.
• Cutting down on or quitting caffeine is probably not as important and quitting smoking, but it still helps in reducing hip fractures that can lead to the need for an emergency hip replacement procedure Baltimore MD.  No more than 300 milligrams of caffeine is recommended daily.  this is equal to about two normal-sized cups of coffee.
• Getting to the gym on a regular basis in another good way to maintain strong bones.  Studies have found that women who do some weight bearing exercise combined with a regular aerobic routine have a 15% higher bone density than those who do not.  Athletics and other kinds of physical training also improve balance, which leads to a reduction in trips and falls that can result in broken bones and other injuries.
• Consuming some healthy omega-3 fatty acids is another way to keep the skeleton healthy.  These nutrients are also good for the heart and other parts of the body.

Dr. Marshall Urist: Pioneer in Spinal Fusion Baltimore MD

One reason that spinal fusion Baltimore MD has become even more effective as a treatment for many diseases such as scoliosis and spinal stenosis is because of the work of Dr. Marshall Urist, who was a pioneering educator and clinician UCLA, starting in 1954.  Dr. Urist was both a physician and a researcher.  He was the editor-in-chief of the medical journal, Clinical Orthopedics and Related Research for almost 30 years.   He published over 400 articles on orthopedic surgery and related issues during his career, and won a plethora of prestigious awards both nationally and internationally.

The discovery and identifications of bone morphogenetic proteins (BMP) is a strong competitor to be Dr. Urist's most impressive and beneficial achievement.  Bone morphogenetic proteins are substances that are naturally present in every human body.  The work of Dr. Urist isolated them and determined that they could be used for healing breaks in bones.  He found that their use could also be applied to spinal fusion surgery Baltimore MD.

BMPs for Spinal Fusion Procedures Baltimore

Spinal fusion surgeries seek to fuse two or more vertebrae at some location in the spine into a singular, rigid, unit of bone.  This may be done for many reasons, including both traumatic injuries, degenerative bone diseases and deformities in the spine that occur from birth.  Under normal circumstances, some bone material would be needed to add into the spine at the point(s) where it is desired to fuse vertebrae.  These would generally have to be collected as a self-donation from the femur of the patient having the fusion, or as a post-humous donation from a cadaver.

There are inherent problems with both of these methods of retrieving donor bone tissue.  A self-donation, or autograft, is known to create a secondary surgical site that can be very painful and difficult to heal.  A shortage of organ donors has made cadaver bone somewhat scarce.  Because of Dr. Urist's work, it is now possible to fuse vertebrae together in the spine as needed using BMPs only.  The BMP method of spinal fusion does still have some limitations.  It is worthwhile to learn about these limitations before assuming that BMP is an option for all types of spinal fusion operations.

Spinal Fusion Baltimore MD for Scoliosis

Scoliosis is a condition that has been around since medical records have been written down.  It literally just means a curvature of the spine.  It is easy to notice that most people have a spine that runs, more or less, straight up and down.  When a person has scoliosis, it may be possible to notice just by looking at them that their spine curves to one side, or, the appearance may be more subtle.  Maybe the patient just seems to have hips that are kind of uneven in height.

The medical diagnosis of scoliosis is made when there is a ten degree variation from vertical toward either side of the body.  Sometimes, doctors also use the letters "c" and "s" to describe the formation of a spine with scoliosis.  In most cases, scoliosis is idiopathic, meaning that there is no clear reason why one individual has it and another does not.  When there is a clear cause, scoliosis is divided into two different types:

• Nonstructural scoliosis indicates that the spine works normally, but appears curved.  It occurs secondary to some other diagnoses, which may include an inflammation such as appendicitis, muscle spasms, or another irregularity in the body such as one leg being longer than the other.  Cases of nonstructural scoliosis are usually corrected by treating the underlying cause.
• Structural scoliosis means that the abnormal curvature of the spine is rigid and cannot be addressed by treating any other cause.  Diagnoses that can underlie structural scoliosis include genetic syndromes, tumors, infections, birth defects, muscular dystrophy and cerebral palsy.

Spinal Fusion Surgery Baltimore

Treatment for idiopathic or structural scoliosis may include spinal fusion Baltimore MD.  While there is a basic procedure for spinal fusion surgery Baltimore, there are a few variations on the procedure, depending upon the direction and the degree of the spine's curvature.  While it is a condition that is generally present from birth, it is sometimes not diagnosed until a child is between ten and fifteen years of age.  It can be revealed during the growth spurts that are common during these developmental years.  The greater the degree of curvature, the more likely it is to increase and cause problems over time.

Care of the Posterior Lumbar Fusion Baltimore MD Patient

Back surgeries one of the most common operations performed today in the United States.  posterior lumbar fusion Baltimore MD is one type of procedure that aims to stabilize a spinal column that has become weak for some reason.  This article is intended for the non-medical person who may become charged with caring for a friend or family member who has had this kind of surgery.  Whether or not patients receive significant benefit in the form of pain relief post-surgically is largely dependent on both the skill of the surgeon and the quality of the after-care.

Caring for the Posterior Lumbar Fusion Patient Baltimore

• Proper psychological support is essential for a good recovery following posterior lumbar fusion surgery Baltimore, and this is available through the professionals that work in the https://www.medstarunionortho.org network.   It is therefore necessary to identify those who can be natural supports before the surgery is even scheduled.  Those who would seem to be obvious choices, like adult children, may not wish to help, while others who may be less obviously interested, such as neighbors or co-workers, may be quite willing to be involved.
• Patients having this type of operation will start their recovery with some minimal physical activity like sitting in a chair or walking for less than a half-hour.  Gradually, they will work up to a physical therapy program that focuses on stabilization of the spine.  Eventually, patients return to most of their pre-surgery activities except, hopefully, with much less pain.  It is important for supporting persons to understand what kinds of activities are necessary and possible in all stages of the recovery process.
• All individuals who have back surgery will have some post-surgical precautions that are designed to keep them from injuring the newly-fused spine before it has fully healed.  Those supporting the patient need to be aware of ways to protect the surgical area.  Precautions can range from from something like getting in and out of bed in a certain way to using adaptive equipment like a raised toilet seat or walker/cane.
• Wearing some kind of stabilizing brace after spinal surgery is an almost universal requirement.  Someone who is helping with the recovery process should know when it should be worn and how to put it on and remove it.

Spondylolisthesis and Posterior Lumbar Fusion Baltimore MD

The spinal column is really one of the wonders of the biological sciences.  It contains both soft and bony structures, with some soft structures being used to cushion various bony parts that have to fit exactly together, and other soft structures being a part of the central nervous system.  The spine connects directly to the skull at its top-most point, just as the spinal cord connects directly to the brain stem.  All of the information coming and going from the brain to the body and the body to the brain passes through the spine.  Because the spine is such an important and complicated structure with so many working and moving parts, there are obviously an almost infinite number of things that can go wrong with it.

Spondylolisthesis Baltimore

When one of the vertebrae slips forward and is no longer in its proper place in the spinal structure, this is called spondylolisthesis.  It can happen for any obvious reason, like an accident or injury, or, sometimes, it happens spontaneously.  It can occur at any point in the spine, but is much more common near the bottom.  This part is called the lumbar area.  Symptoms range from mild to severe pain in the back to no symptoms at all.  Some cases involve pain in the legs and other lower extremities.

Posterior Lumbar Fusion Baltimore

When cases of spondylolisthesis are ongoing and unbearably painful, without having been relieved by less invasive treatments like exercise programs or injections of steroid-type medication, Posterior Lumbar Fusion Baltimore MD may be considered.  This is a surgical intervention in which the orthopedic or neurological surgeon makes an incision in the patient's back in order to stabilize the spine.  The stabilization occurs first with medical rods and screws, and later through the growth of bone graft material that is placed at the same time.  The aim of the posterior lumbar fusion surgery Baltimore is to get individual vertebrae to fuse together into a single piece of bone that will hold the spinal column straight and allow nerves structures to have room to be contained without constriction and resulting discomfort.

Arthritis and Total Knee Replacement Baltimore MD

Arthritis is the major category of disease that leads patients to consider a total knee replacement Baltimore MD.  While there are many excellent non-surgical interventions available, as well as surgical procedures that repair the knee rather than replacing it, the knee replacement surgery Baltimore is the best standard of care for individuals who have chronic pain and disability due to an arthritic condition.

Types of Arthritis and Knee Replacement Baltimore

While there are many varieties of arthritis that effect people, especially as they are getting older, there are three major kinds that typically cause specific problems with the knees.  These are as follows:

• Post-traumatic arthritis occurs after a very serious injury to the knee joint.  These types of injuries would include fractures of the bones that make up the knee joint.  They include the femur, which is the large bone in the thigh, the fibula and tibia that make up the lower part of the leg, and the patella, also known as the knee cap.  Tears in the ligaments can also precede cases of post-traumatic arthritis.
• Osteoarthritis is the most common of the arthritic causes of knee pain and dysfunction.  It most regularly occurs in individuals who are over the age of 50, with age being its biggest risk factor.  Osteoarthritis is also called "wear and tear" arthritis, meaning it gets worse as a moving part of the body gets more use.  Over-use of specific joints can cause osteoarthritis to occur in people who younger than age 50.  This condition breaks down the cartilage that cushions the bone structures making up the knee joint, allowing the bare ends of the bones to rub together, resulting in pain, swelling and stiffness.
• Rheumatoid arthritis differs from other kinds of arthritis that are often use- or trauma-based.  It is a systemic disease that belongs in the family of autoimmune disorders, meaning that the body's immune system fails to function properly and ends up attacking it's own structures in various ways.  In the case of the knee joint, the synovial membrane that surrounds the knee joint becomes inflamed and thickened.  If the inflammation is chronic, it can also damage the cartilage in the joint and cause it to wear away.

Lower Extremity Pain and Lumbar Laminectomy and Discectomy Baltimore

Back problems are very common, especially among older adults in the United States.  Age is probably the biggest contributing factor to the break down of the bony structures (vertebrae) that make up the rigid part of the spinal column.  It is possible, though, for anyone of any age to develop a degenerative diseases such as osteoarthritis that can lead to issue in the spine.  While one might expect that back pain would be the most common result of spinal compressions that result in the constriction of central nervous system structures inside of the spine, there can be a number of other symptoms as well.  Commonly, these include pain in the lower extremities.  Sciatica is the medical word for leg pain that is related to problems in the lower (lumbar) spine.  Claudication means a similar kind of leg pain that occurs only with walking or other activity.  Lower extremity symptoms that are related to lumbar spinal stenosis also include a tingling or numbness radiating from that area into the buttocks and legs.

Lumbar Laminectomy and Discectomy Surgeries Baltimore MD

There are a number of treatments that have different degrees of effectiveness in treating lower extremity symptoms.  Some sports medicine clinics can treat these problems very effectively with massage or physical therapy.  Some more medically based interventions include injections of some steroidal medications, oral anti-inflammatories and lumbar laminectomy and discectomy Baltimore surgeries.

Deciding on a treatment for lower-lumbar, spinal stenosis that causes pain in the lower extremities should be a joint process between the patient and the doctor.  It will depend on the severity and duration of the pain, and whether or not it can be effectively relieved with less-invasive treatments.  A healthier lifestyle program that emphasizes a balanced died and consistent exercise could be the very first intervention that is tried, perhaps alongside the use of over-the-counter, anti-inflammatory medications.  Back surgeries, for example lumbar laminectomy and discectomy surgical procedures Baltimore MD are generally considered elective procedures.  These types of surgeries will normally be considered when other treatments have failed to provide sufficient relief.  Because they are not emergency surgeries, it is possible for patients to schedule them when the recovery period will fit best into their lives.