At the heart of orthopaedics is the belief that everyone deserves to be able to live life to the fullest. At MidAmerica Orthopaedics, this is a core belief of ours too. This means that we are consistently paying attention to the advances being made in this industry – including treatment advances and innovations – so that all of our patients can receive nothing but the best care.

Orthopaedic surgery refers to surgical treatment of the musculoskeletal system. Essentially, this is the group of organs that provides humans with the stability and mobility they need to function in their day-to-day lives. In this blog, we are going to highlight and discuss some recent advances in this dynamic and important industry.

Treatment Advancement #1: Increased Use of Minimally-Invasive Spine Surgery

Minimally invasive spine surgery (MISS) has never been more in demand and accepted in spine care than it currently is today. The reason for this increased prevalence is that more and more patients are realizing that less traumatic tissue handling techniques are becoming just as effective as previous methods, with far less risk involved. MISS allows orthopaedic surgeons to accomplish multiple beneficial things; they can minimize incisions, minimize postoperative pain for their patients, and in many cases achieve better decompression of nerves.

At MidAmerica Orthopaedics’ Minimally Invasive Spine Clinic , we have several amazing surgeons, such as Dr. Gurpal Pannu – who care deeply about their work of guiding their patients through their recovery journey through all kinds of processes, including minimally invasive procedures and non-operative procedures.

Treatment Advancement #2: Aspirin as Blood Thinner Following Surgery

Very recently, in October of 2022, there was a study shared by the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University that is very relevant for postoperative treatment following bone fracture surgeries.

It concluded, based on a clinical trial of over 12,000 patients, that Aspirin is equally effective in preventing blood clots in the period shortly after a surgery. Historically, patients have been prescribed blood thinners for this type of necessary preventative treatment, but those can be painful and stressful to inject, whereas over-the-counter aspirin is far simpler to take, and is considerably less expensive as well.

While this recent news is still making its way through the medical community, it is clear based on the thoroughness of the study that the outcome will change the way that postoperative prescriptions are provided following bone fracture surgeries. This news is certainly relevant to us at MidAmerica Orthopaedics, because we offer bone fracture surgeries through our Sports Medicine Clinic and Hand to Shoulder Clinic.

Treatment Advancement #3: Decrease in Opioid Prescriptions

Continuing in a similar vein as the previous discussion, there was also a recent study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association that showed that patients recovering from orthopaedic surgery recover just as well – if not better – without using opioid-based painkillers.

It is no secret that with opioid prescriptions comes the potential risk for unused doses which, if they end up in the wrong hands, cause great harm. While it will be impossible to eliminate the use of opioid-based painkillers immediately and fully, due to how common orthopedic surgeries are, this study marks a step that physicians and surgeons can take to limit the potential for dependency in their patients, and in turn reduce the effects of North America’s ongoing opioid epidemic.

To conclude, we hope you found these insights relevant and helpful, and we encourage you to reach out to MidAmerica Orthopaedics by phone at 708-237-7200, or by stopping by either of our Chicagoland clinics during walk-in hours if you have any questions or wish to schedule an appointment.