{"id":1537,"date":"2016-11-09T14:52:34","date_gmt":"2016-11-09T14:52:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.cooperhealth.org\/sjmedicalreport\/?p=1537"},"modified":"2016-11-09T14:52:34","modified_gmt":"2016-11-09T14:52:34","slug":"give-us-a-break-reconstructive-orthopaedic-trauma-surgery-team-uniquely-qualified-to-correct-the-most-complex-injuries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cooperhealth.org\/sjmedicalreport\/2016\/11\/09\/give-us-a-break-reconstructive-orthopaedic-trauma-surgery-team-uniquely-qualified-to-correct-the-most-complex-injuries\/","title":{"rendered":"GIVE US A BREAK: Reconstructive Orthopaedic Trauma Surgery Team Uniquely Qualified to Correct The Most Complex Injuries"},"content":{"rendered":"
Tweet<\/a><\/div>\n

Home to the only Level I trauma center<\/a> in southern New Jersey, Cooper University Hospital has a team of orthopaedic<\/a>\u00a0surgeons with an unparalleled depth of expertise in correcting\u00a0the effects of trauma, deformities,\u00a0and other musculoskeletal\u00a0problems.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

While these board-certified, fellowship-trained orthopaedic\u00a0traumatologists provide immediate,\u00a0around-the-clock attention\u00a0to patients of all ages who have experienced severe traumatic\u00a0injuries\u2014what\u2019s called \u201chot\u201d trauma\u2014they\u00a0also are equipped to handle complex cases in which an original injury hasn\u2019t healed correctly,
\neven months after the initial trauma.<\/p>\n

\"Kenneth

Kenneth W. Graf, MD
Director, Orthopaedic
Trauma Program and
Fracture Care<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThese are classified as \u2018cold\u2019 trauma cases,\u201d explains Kenneth W. Graf, MD<\/a>, director\u00a0of Cooper\u2019s Orthopaedic Trauma Program\u00a0and Fracture Care<\/a>, \u201cand can include bones\u00a0that haven\u2019t healed, or have healed mal-aligned\u00a0or short, or complex injuries that\u00a0require the bone to be re-broken and realigned.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the most common cold trauma issues we see on\u00a0referral is a U-type pelvic fracture,\u201d\u00a0he notes. \u201cRadiographs\u00a0reveal only about 30 percent\u00a0of sacral fractures, so they\u2019re missed by a lot of ERs that can\u2019t\u00a0figure out why patients aren\u2019t\u00a0able to walk.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some of the other complex\u00a0cases Dr. Graf and his colleagues, Henry J. Dolch, DO<\/a>,\u00a0and Rakesh P. Mashru, MD<\/a>, see\u00a0are acetabular fractures (a break in the socket portion of the ball-and-socket\u00a0hip joint) and periarticular fractures that\u00a0occur around or immediately adjacent to a joint.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe often have to delay surgery for these\u00a0complicated breaks that go into the joint\u00a0while the soft-tissue swelling subsides,\u201d Dr.\u00a0Graf notes.<\/p>\n

Cooper\u2019s Reconstructive Orthopaedic\u00a0Trauma Surgery team has pioneered minimally\u00a0invasive fracture surgery and limb-lengthening\u00a0techniques here in South Jersey, contributing to their consistent track record of successful outcomes even in the most\u00a0complex cases. They are particularly adept at an advanced form of limb-lengthening\u00a0known as bone transport, a salvage technique\u00a0in which bony tissue is regenerated\u00a0to fill a gap where bone is missing due to trauma or infection.<\/p>\n

\"Henry

Henry J. Dolch, DO, and patient.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cWe recently had to remove a 13-centimeter\u00a0diseased portion of a patient\u2019s femur\/\u00a0tibia,\u201d Dr. Graf explains. \u201cThen, using an\u00a0external fixation device, we\u2019re lengthening\u00a0the healthy portion of the bone a little bit each day so the leg can be used again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Helping patients to regain function is\u00a0one of the most gratifying aspects of the\u00a0work Dr. Graf and his team performs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe see a fair number of patients who\u00a0aren\u2019t functioning as well as we\u2019d expect\u00a0with the types of breaks they have had,\u201d he\u00a0notes. \u201cAnd, unfortunately, many are told\u00a0that that\u2019s the best they\u2019ll be able to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cUsually, that\u2019s not true,\u201d he adds. \u201cWe\u00a0have many different options to get people\u00a0back to functioning more fully. The earlier\u00a0[after a break] we can see someone, the better\u00a0chance they have of doing well. But even\u00a0if it\u2019s months later, we\u2019re equipped to help\u00a0improve patients\u2019 function.\u201d<\/p>\n

Notably, Cooper has earned global\u00a0recognition for its capabilities in treating\u00a0geriatric hip fractures<\/a>. In fact, Cooper is\u00a0the only hospital in the state certified by\u00a0the International Geriatric Fracture Society\u00a0(IGFS), an acknowledgment to its full continuum\u00a0of care which ranges from osteoporosis\u00a0intervention to extensive rehabilitation\u00a0services.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do a lot of complex procedures\u00a0here,\u201d Dr. Graf says, \u201cbut we also take care\u00a0of the basics, like hip or wrist fractures,\u00a0extremely well.\u201d \u25a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Home to the only Level I trauma center in southern New Jersey, Cooper University Hospital has a team of orthopaedic\u00a0surgeons with an unparalleled depth of expertise in correcting\u00a0the effects of trauma, deformities,\u00a0and other musculoskeletal\u00a0problems.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":1532,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[158,156,157],"class_list":{"0":"entry","1":"post","2":"publish","3":"author-rmineo","4":"has-more-link","5":"post-1537","7":"format-standard","8":"has-post-thumbnail","9":"category-featured","10":"post_tag-complex-injuries","11":"post_tag-orthopaedic-trauma-surgery","12":"post_tag-orthopaedics"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cooperhealth.org\/sjmedicalreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1537","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cooperhealth.org\/sjmedicalreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cooperhealth.org\/sjmedicalreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cooperhealth.org\/sjmedicalreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cooperhealth.org\/sjmedicalreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1537"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cooperhealth.org\/sjmedicalreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1537\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1548,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cooperhealth.org\/sjmedicalreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1537\/revisions\/1548"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cooperhealth.org\/sjmedicalreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1532"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cooperhealth.org\/sjmedicalreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cooperhealth.org\/sjmedicalreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cooperhealth.org\/sjmedicalreport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}