Orthopedic Surgery
Orthopedic care is the area of medicine dedicated to your musculoskeletal system. This means that if you have any issues with your muscles, bones, joints, tendons, or ligaments, you may need to see an orthopedic surgeon.
In some cases, successfully addressing musculoskeletal issues will require orthopedic surgery. The orthopedic surgeons at Yankton Medical Clinic use the latest technologies and most innovative procedures to ensure patients across South Dakota and Nebraska are able to keep doing all the activities they enjoy. At Yankton Medical Clinic Orthopedics, we keep you moving!
Orthopedic Surgery Specialties
The orthopedic surgeons at Yankton Medical Clinic specialize in some of the following areas.
Joint Replacement
One of the most commonly known orthopedic treatments is a hip replacement or knee replacement surgery.
As you age, your joints can wear out in a way that causes pain, discomfort, and loss of mobility. Sometimes that’s due to arthritis or traumatic injury–but often it’s simply down to wear and tear. Replacing the joint–as is the case for a total knee replacement surgery, for example–can minimize pain and keep you moving. The orthopedic surgery team at Yankton Medical Clinic specializes in:
- Knee replacement (both partial and total knee replacement surgery)
- Robotic Total Knee Replacement
- Hip replacement
- Shoulder replacement
Fracture Care
It’s easy to hear that you have a bone “fracture” and breathe a sigh of relief. At least it’s not a break, you think. Unfortunately, a bone fracture is a break. As a result, special care must be taken to ensure your bones knit back together the right way.
In cases where fractures are particularly problematic, surgery may be required to ensure proper healing. The orthopedic surgeons at Yankton Medical Center will be able to assess your fracture and develop the right surgical therapies to get you moving again.
Carpal Tunnel Surgery
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome can develop for a wide variety of reasons (not only, as is popularly assumed, due to repetitive motion). This can cause numbness and discomfort in the index finger, the middle finger, and the thumb. Carpal tunnel surgery is usually employed when other treatments prove ineffective.
During carpal tunnel surgery, your Yankton Medical Clinic orthopedic surgeon will trim away a portion of your tendon, relieving the pressure on your nerve. This is designed to provide lasting improvement in your carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms.
Athletic Injuries
Whether you’re running, jumping, or stretching, athletic injuries can take you out of the game. The orthopedic team at Yankton Medical Clinic can help diagnose and treat your athletic injuries in a way that makes sense for your overall health. Some particularly severe athletic injuries may require surgery to treat.
At Yankton Medical Clinic, we specialize in outpatient procedures that are minimally invasive. That means your recovery can progress more quickly and we can get you moving –and back on the field–as quickly as possible.
Rotator Cuff Repair
Rotator cuff injuries can drastically (and painfully) impair the movement of your arm. A torn rotator cuff can develop due to arthritis, wear and tear, or traumatic injury.
Rotator cuff repair surgery can reattach ligaments to the bone where needed, decreasing pain and improving mobility as a result. This treatment is often paired with physical therapy in order to speed recovery and reduce the risk of future rotator cuff injuries.
Cervical and Lumbar Spine Stenosis
The spine houses a large number of nerves in order to facilitate movement and sensation throughout the body. Spinal stenosis is a narrowing of the spinal column–and this narrowing can cause the nerves to become pinched, leading to pain and discomfort.
Spinal stenosis is most commonly experienced in the neck and lower back areas. Surgery is employed to correct the problem and relieve pressure on the nerves–minimizing pain and discomfort at the same time.
Scoliosis
Scoliosis is characterized by a sideways curvature of the spine. In cases where scoliosis is particularly severe, surgery may be required to address the problem and relieve symptoms. In most cases, scoliosis surgery will involve spinal fusion (fusing the vertebrae together) or bone grafting. Your orthopedic surgeon will develop a treatment plan specific to your scoliosis symptoms.
Disk Herniations
Between each vertebra in your spine is a disk of tissue that serves as a kind of shock absorber for your backbone. When these disks herniate (when they are squeezed or ruptured), the resultant pinched nerves can be quite painful. Surgery for herniated disks seeks to correct the problem by removing the ruptured portion of the disk (up to removing the entire disk). This relieves pressure on the nerve and helps to minimize or alleviate pain.
Sciatica
Sciatica can have a few different causes, but it’s often the result of a herniated disk or a bone spur. In those cases, sciatica surgery can be deployed to correct the issue–often by addressing the herniated disk responsible for symptoms.
Sciatica surgery treatments can eliminate the pressure on the sciatic nerve and, therefore, alleviate the lower back and leg pain that is the hallmark of sciatica.
Foot and Ankle Conditions
Ankle pain can be a challenge to cope with and severely limit your mobility! Addressing and correcting foot and ankle pain may sometimes require surgery, especially when other interventions have proven unsuccessful. The precise surgical approach will depend on the source of your condition–whether the ligaments, tendons, bones, or muscles are causing your loss of mobility.
The surgeons at Yankton Medical Clinic will be able to assess your foot or ankle condition and develop a treatment plan that will help keep you moving!
Ankle Sprains
You might think of a sprained ankle as a minor injury. But that ankle pain you feel after a sprain is damage to the ligament. When you experience a grade 3 ankle sprain, for example, the ligament has been fully torn.
When you experience such a severe ankle sprain, surgery is required to repair the damage. Healing is often achieved via a procedure called ankle arthroscopy, which repairs the ligament. Once healing is complete, most patients are again able to move normally.
Bunion Surgery
Bunions can seem minor. But left untreated, these bone growths on the big toe can severely hamper your mobility. When walking becomes painful, you’ll likely find yourself walking less and less. In some cases, treating a bunion requires a surgical procedure designed to shave off the unwanted bone. Bunion surgery eliminates the pressure on the big toe and can help patients walk normally–and with less pain–again.
Achilles Tendonitis
Damage to the Achilles tendon can have severe consequences for your ability to walk. Achilles tendonitis is relatively common, especially as we age (and especially among runners). But particularly severe cases can require surgery to repair damage to the tendon. Once the tendon is surgically repaired, you may be required to wear a special boot for 6 to 12 weeks after your procedure. After healing is complete, you should regain much of the mobility you lost.
Heel Pain
Severe pain in the heel can be a sign of a few different issues. Your orthopedic surgeon will examine your heel to determine the exact cause of your pain. If surgery is required, it will usually be to repair ligaments, muscles, or tendons in the area.
Injury to these tissues can make walking or running extremely painful (if not impossible). Once the surgery is complete and tissues are repaired, you should notice much greater mobility.
Ankle Pain
Chronic ankle pain or ankle injury can be a sign of weakness in your joint. For some patients, surgery can help strengthen the ankle joint, making those chronic injuries less common. Likewise, ankle surgery can address pain and discomfort caused by arthritis. Ankle pain is not something you want to ignore!
Ankle Instability
The instability of the ankle can affect the way you walk. If your tendons become too loose over time, for example, then the tension that supports your ankle and your leg can begin to falter.
Surgery to correct ankle instability will typically involve either ligament repair or ligament replacement, depending on your situation. These surgical procedures can be performed on an outpatient basis.
Orthopedic Outpatient Surgery
The Yankton Medical Clinic Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) is an onsite facility in Yankton, SD, that performs a wide variety of outpatient surgical procedures. Patients who undergo surgery at our ASC will generally return home the same day. Our Ambulatory Surgery Center provides all the high-tech technologies and safety measures of a hospital setting without additional stress, confusion, or cost. This makes undergoing an outpatient procedure at the Yankton Medical Clinic ASC a straightforward, easy-going experience.
Not all orthopedic surgeries can be performed in an ASC setting, but many can. Talk to your orthopedic surgeon about which setting might be best for your condition and your needs. The right outpatient procedure can keep you moving!
Get the Orthopedic Surgery You Need
Undergoing orthopedic surgery is often the first step in getting you back on your feet–and back to your life–again. Our orthopedic surgeons bring worldwide expertise and exceptional, high-tech care to your backyard! At Yankton Medical Clinic Orthopedics, we keep you moving!
Call us today at 605-665-1722
