As a member of the active staff of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Hartford Hospital, I have many opportunities to be a part of the team of orthopedists that provide care to injured patients admitted to Hartford Hospital. I have been on the active staff for years and, thanks to the my exposure to resident orthopedic surgeons and my colleagues on the staff, weekly educational conferences, and constant exposure to complicated multiply injured patients, I believe that over that time I have become a better surgeon. Patients are often shipped in from all over Connecticut and sometimes from upstate New York and Massachusetts.
As a member of the active staff of Manchester Memorial Hospital (ECHN), I also have the opportunity to bring my experience to the ECHN community.
Below is an example of an injury sustained by a young man who happened to have a little problem with his motorcycle. He sustained this very comminuted tibial shaft fracture. The tissue quality around the knee was poor immediately after the and immediate repair would have put the skin and muscle viability at risk. Therefore, we applied an external fixator for 10 days. Those x-rays are below.
After 10 days, he was returned to the operating room for removal of the fixator and internal fixation with the plate and screws below. A senior orthopedic resident and I spent over 2 hours on this fracture repair with the result below. The fracture through the joint was repaired and the shaft fracture was very well reduced and stabilized. Time will tell if this fracture will go onto complete union. At about 8 weeks out of surgery, the concern is now about whether the fracture will heal before the screws break or pull out of the bone.
Time will tell……….
Well, it has been 3 months since the initial fracture on Mr. Leg vs. Motorcycle. The latest x-rays are below and seem to show very slow healing. The plan at this time is to return to the OR for a bone grafting.
Films fro August, 2008…
Thanks
JM