Instructional course lectures
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The symptoms associated with lumbar spinal stenosis can decrease quality of life and may cause patients to seek treatment. Except in rare cases of rapid neurologic progression or cauda equina syndrome, nonsurgical modalities should be the initial treatment choice. Activity modification, a variety of medications, epidural steroid injections, and other methods are recommended for pain reduction. ⋯ Arthrodesis, either with or without instrumentation, is also indicated in some patients. Several studies report that surgical treatment produces better outcomes than nonsurgical treatment in the short term; however, the results tend to deteriorate with time. Lumbar decompressive surgery can be complicated by epidural hematoma, deep venous thrombosis, dural tear, infection, nerve root injury, and recurrence of symptoms.
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In some groups of polytrauma patients, particularly those with chest injuries, head injuries, and those with mangled extremities, early total care of major bone fractures may be potentially harmful. Delaying all orthopaedic surgery, however, is also not always the best approach. In these situations, damage control orthopaedics, which emphasizes the stabilization and control of the injury rather than repair will add little additional physiologic insult to the patient and is a treatment option that should be considered.
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The principles and techniques used to reduce or eliminate blood transfusions can be applied to the standard practice of orthopaedic surgery. The overall goal is to enable orthopaedic surgeons who are interested in reducing allogeneic transfusions to find a method that fits their practice.
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Unstable pelvic ring injuries in hemodynamically unstable patients are life-threatening emergencies that many orthopaedic surgeons encounter in practice. Therefore, it is important to be up to date regarding current methods of evaluating, assessing, and treating patients with these complex and severe injuries. Surgeons should first determine whether patients have hemodynamic instability and identify the source of the hemorrhage. Patients should then be assessed for stabilization of unstable pelvic ring injuries.
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One of the primary goals in the perioperative care of orthopaedic patients undergoing surgery is the avoidance of allogeneic transfusion. There are a number of ways to lessen blood loss during surgical intervention including regional hypotensive anesthesia, careful and atraumatic surgical technique, and coagulation of bleeding surfaces. ⋯ The use of perioperative recombinant erythropoietin is also a useful adjunct to promote stimulation of the bone marrow and increased red cell production. Although many infectious diseases that are transmitted through allogeneic blood transfusions have been lessened by better screening techniques, there is still potential life threatening reactions and viral transmissions that may be avoided by comprehensive blood management in joint arthroplasty.