Trauma Management

Dr. Abhishek Bansal

Trauma surgery is a subspecialty of orthopedic medicine that requires fellowship training beyond the usual orthopedic surgical residency. Our orthopedic trauma and reconstruction surgeons treat and manage the simplest to the most complex fractures.

Trauma cases are especially challenging to treat, but our team of trauma surgeons will act quickly to examine your injury and determine how to treat it. Your injury may take some time to heal, but you will make progress towards recovery one day at a time. Car accidents are a common cause of orthopedic trauma. People can also sustain trauma in slips, falls, and industrial accidents. Other causes are burns, gunshot wounds and assaults. Whatever the cause, a trauma patient faces immediate risks.

Common orthopedic trauma injuries and treatment options include:

Hip (Pelvic) Fractures
Upper Leg (Femur) Fractures
Lower Leg Fractures: Tibia and Fibula
Collarbone (Clavicle) Fractures
Upper Arm (Humerus) Fractures
Lower Arm Fractures: Radius and Ulna
Non-Healing or Poorly Healed Fractures
Post-Traumatic Bone Infection
Post-Traumatic Reconstruction Soft Tissue Reconstruction
Total Joint Replacement
Arthroscopic Repair

Advances in Orthopedic Trauma Care

Often orthopedic trauma injuries are treated with casts, splints and braces – devices designed to immobilize and protect the area of surgery and/or injury. Immobilization allows healing to occur.

Traction is another often-used treatment approach. It aligns a bone or bones by a gentle, steady pulling action. This pulling action may be transmitted to the bone through skin tapes or a metal pin inserted through a bone. Sometimes, traction serves as a preliminary treatment to stabilize the bone fragments before surgery.

Other treatment techniques include:

Dr. Abhishek Bansal

Open reduction and internal fixation – This type of treatment involves an orthopedic surgeon performing a surgical procedure on the bone. During surgery, bone fragments are repositioned (reduction) into normal alignment. Next, they are held together with special screws or metal plates attached to the outer surface of the bone (fixation). Bone fragments may also be held together by rods inserted into the marrow space in the center of the bone. This treatment approach can reposition the fracture fragments exactly.

External Fixation – In this treatment approach, pins or screws are placed into the broken bone above and below the fracture site, allowing the orthopaedic surgeon to reposition the bone fragments. The pins or screws are connected to a metal bar or bars outside the skin. This creates a stabilizing frame that holds the bones in the proper position for healing. Eventually, the external fixation device is removed, but sometimes internal fixation will prove necessary.

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