Ankle Replacement Surgery
Definition
Ankle replacement surgery, also known as total ankle arthroplasty, is a medical procedure that involves replacing the damaged or worn-out joint surfaces of the ankle with artificial components to relieve pain and improve function. This surgery is typically performed for patients with severe arthritis or other degenerative conditions affecting the ankle joint.
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Sport-Related Concussion Program
Sport-related concussion is a frequent injury in athletes of all ages. Although important steps have been taken to improve sports safety and reduce the incidence of concussion, there are still over 1 million sport-related concussions per year in youth athletes in the United States. The Sports Medicine specialists at Yale Medicine Orthopaedics & Rehabilitation are dedicated to providing the highest quality treatment of all athletic injuries, and helping youth athletes recover and safely return to their sports. To find out more about this program, please fill out a brief survey . Our multidisciplinary team includes a dedicated and compassionate group of concussion specialists including Sports Medicine physicians, pediatric neurosurgery providers, physical therapists with special expertise in concussion and vestibular treatment, nurses, and social workers to address all the components of an athlete’s well-being after a diagnosis of concussion. In addition, our patients benefit from access to the expert providers in pediatric neurology, neuropsychology, and behavioral health at Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital and Yale Medicine. Our patients benefit from a comprehensive initial visit, which includes a review of their history and a thorough concussion examination, including all domains of concussion symptoms and signs. Our doctors and physical therapists help our patients and their parents to understand their symptoms and outline steps for recovery based on the latest evidence and best clinical practices, tailoring treatments to each patient’s set of symptoms. If any musculoskeletal injuries occurred at the same time as a concussion, our Sports Medicine specialists are also experts in the diagnosis and treatment of athletic injuries and joint pain. Often, follow-up doctor visits can be done via telemedicine, which is convenient for patients and their parents. If a specific need arises, patients with sport-related concussion may benefit from consultation with another expert Yale clinician to discuss headaches, sleep disturbances, mood symptoms including anxiety and depression, cognitive symptoms affecting school performance, visual symptoms, or concerns about the long-term risks of concussions. Our Sports Medicine specialists work with patients’ schools and athletic trainers to facilitate their returning to the learning environment and to physical activities in a gradual and supervised progression.Complex Knee Ligament Injury & Knee Dislocation Program
Complex knee ligament injuries occur when athletes or patients sustain severe trauma, injuring two or more ligaments in or around the knee. In these cases, surgery is typically needed to repair or reconstruct these important structures. Without this surgery, the knee has potential for being unstable with simple daily activities or athletic pursuits. There is also risk of premature arthritis secondary to the abnormal motion of the knee joint. These injuries can occur during athletics and collision sports, or traumatic events such as falls from heights, or motorcycle or automobile injuries. The most severe of these injuries, a knee dislocation, is typically the result of a high-energy injury resulting in disruption of the normal alignment of the thigh (femur) and the shin (tibia) bones. Unfortunately, these are injuries that can cause both neurologic or blood vessel injuries and can be limb-threatening emergencies. Knee dislocations are fortunately rare, accounting for 0.02-0.2% of all musculoskeletal injuries. To find out more about this program, please fill out a brief survey . A thorough and accurate diagnosis is critical in treating these complicated knee injuries. Proper diagnosis, including identification of the torn ligaments as well as assessment of the location of the tear and associated injuries, is one of the primary challenges with treatment of these injuries. While high-resolution MRI is a critical diagnostic tool, the ability to quickly and accurately diagnose these injuries requires the surgeon to have excellent knowledge of the complex function of the knee ligaments and skilled physical examination techniques. Combined with the MRI images, this allows for an individualized treatment plan for these unique injuries. Through our involvement with Yale New Haven Hospital’s Level 1 Trauma Center program, our orthopaedic and trauma surgeons have developed extensive experience with these injuries over the past 20 years. Our orthopaedists work closely with our general surgery trauma, vascular surgery, plastic surgery and expert musculoskeletal radiology colleagues in order to care for these potentially limb-threatening knee injuries. Prompt diagnosis is of highest importance and we accept referrals and transfers from all outside facilities, which can be arranged through our Yale New Haven Hospital Y Access program (888-YNHH-BED). Patients are occasionally “life flighted” via SkyHealth from outside facilities by helicopter to be treated at our tertiary care center. SkyHealth travels within a 200-mile radius of New Haven. Our team also works closely with affiliated physical therapists who are trained in the management of patients in their recovery phase of healing. As these injuries and procedures are uncommon, a carefully structured rehabilitation program guided by experiences physical therapists is also crucial to patient recovery. Depending upon the clinical situation, care is either performed in an inpatient setting at Yale New Haven HosSpine Surgery
Millions of people suffer from the broad range of diseases that can affect the spine. Debilitating pain and impaired function often keep people from working and enjoying normal lives. While spinal conditions and injuries, particularly neck and back pain, are quite common, they can be among the most complex and difficult ailments to treat. This is especially true with patients who have had little improvement with prior spinal surgery or failed medical treatments for such diseases as scoliosis or degenerative disk disease. Our experienced team of highly-skilled neurosurgeons and staff work together to provide the best care possible. Whether the pain is acute or chronic, we are committed to understanding the problem and will work with each patient to determine the best way to treat it. Patients travel from across the Northeast to have our experts treat problems, including spinal cord and nerve compression, spinal deformities, spinal tumors, neck and back pain, and sciatica. Our focus is on helping patients overcome their disability, rather than performing surgery or providing physical therapy. We provide comprehensive diagnostic services for patients whose conditions have not been definitively identified, as well as for those who had unsuccessful treatments, including previous surgeries. Because we are a major referral center for neurosurgical problems of all types and levels of complexity, our patients benefit from our collaborative, interdisciplinary environment that enhances opportunities for advancing care. Our services include: Minimally invasive surgery:Advanced, one-day surgical procedures, including vertebroplasty and disk electrocauterization, are available for appropriate candidates. Vertebroplasty relieves pain among some osteoporosis sufferers with collapsed vertebrae. Surgical bone cement is injected into the affected areas bolstering bone growth. Disk electrocauterization involves the use of a needle to shrink disks by burning them. Complex surgery:Our Spine Center specializes in this type of surgery, which is reserved for cases in which all other treatment options have been considered. Our surgeons can perform spinal reconstructions for severely deteriorated spines or repair damage from trauma or prior surgeries. Cutting-edge techniques, such as discography, make it possible to track electrical activity within the spine with exceptional precision to localize the site of injuries. Support services:Yale New Haven Hospital is a Level I trauma center, fully equipped to handle complex spinal cord injuries. Spine patients who undergo surgery benefit from specially equipped surgical suites. They will recover in the hospital’s Neurosurgical Intensive Care Unit (NICU), the only specialized unit of its kind in the region, staffed with experienced neurocritical care nurses. Our team continuously challenges current practice to ensure our programs reflect the most advanced treatment options delivered in a way that enhances the health and comfort o