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Have you recently suffered from a traumatic shoulder injury? Are you searching for an upper extremity specialist who can carry out an orthopaedic shoulder or elbow surgery or can treat injured hands and shoulders in La Jolla, CA? If so, you may like to contact Dr. Kristopher Downing in La Jolla. Dr Downing works at Synergy Orthopedic Specialists Medical Group, an orthopaedic surgery centre. Doctors at the centre can provide advanced surgical treatments for upper extremities, including hands, wrists, elbows, and shoulders. They can also recommend non-invasive therapies such as physiotherapy, massage, and pain killers to help you to heal and recover without surgery. This article will look at the things to consider when deciding if Orthopedic surgery is right for you.
Is surgery the right choice?
Surgery is an effective treatment option for many conditions that affect the shoulders, elbows, or upper extremities. There is a high success rate with orthopaedic surgery, and this type of treatment usually helps to improve the patient’s quality of life.
However, it’s essential not to take the decision to have surgery lightly. Your medical team can’t guarantee that the operation will be a success and that all your expectations will be met. Remember that there is also a risk attached to having surgery. Your doctor will be able to offer advice and information about whether surgery is the right choice for you, but ultimately the final decision lies with you. For that reason, it’s important not to rush into having surgery. It’s a good idea to try less invasive treatment options first.
All surgery comes with a risk. Your surgeon will make every attempt possible to minimize these risks; however, complications do sometimes occur. Before your surgery, you should ask your doctor about potential complications that could arise as well as any side effects you’re likely to experience. Only give your consent to go ahead with the surgery when you are satisfied that you’ve discussed all the risks, and you feel that these are outweighed by the benefits you’ll gain.
Risks of Surgery
It’s a good idea to bear in mind that no surgery can be carried out without risks. Your surgeon will do everything possible to help minimize the risks but, sometimes complications do occur. Surgery can be riskier for smokers, and you may like to give up smoking before your surgery is scheduled.
One of the main risks of having an operation is problems with anaesthetics. These are rare, but it’s worth knowing that anaesthetic can cause severe conditions, which may be life-threatening. These include Heart Attacks, stroke, or deep Vein Thrombosis.
For most patients, their scar will heal without a problem. Your scar may be itchy at first or feel tender, but this should settle down after a month or two. A year after the operation, your scar should be pale in colour and feel fine. In some people, the scar may stay very visible and be raised and red for the rest of their life. Sometimes people are also left with numbness surrounding the scar. It will usually reduce in time, but some numbness may be permanent.
Orthopaedic surgery carries with it a risk of nerve damage. This is because the operation is being performed very close to the blood vessels of important organs. Damage to these nerves is rare, but when it occurs, it can be very serious.
Other complications you may like to consider are the risk of blood loss or infection. These are very rare but do sometimes happen.
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