Florida Hospital Orthopaedic Institute Fracture Care Center

[kmfenaughty 0]

I want to make everyone aware that if you ever need a surgeon to perform any orthopaedic traumatology work, we have some of the finest surgeons available here in Orlando, FL located at Florida Hospital Orthopaedic Institute Fracture Care Center. These doctors have actually written the book on a minimally invasive approach to the treatment of orthopaedic traumas.

http://www.fracturecarecenter.com/about/index.asp

J. DEAN COLE, M.D., Medical Director and his associate Steve V. Nguyen, M.D. have pioneered the minimally invasive approach for the treatment of orthopaedic traumas.

As a "student" I recently hade the unfortunate experience of a screwed up landing .. I know it's not the first time but it was my first real hard landing.

After the landing .. I hobbled back to the truck and back to the gear room ... debriefed the landing and painfully headed home, disappointed that @ 10:30 Sunday morning with Levels 6&7 still ahead I was done for the day. I headed home to keep my leg elevated and iced for 24 hrs but on Monday morning it was clearly time to head for the ER.

I chose to drive to Florida Hospital in downtown Orlando because of the care I have received there previously. After going through the ER room protocol and seeing the attending physician (who was a pilot btw, he understood a screwed up landing) .. we were pretty much convinced it was a relatively minor injury but just to be safe he ordered x-rays. When the x-rays were back .. he asked if I wanted the good news or the bad .... the bad news was that I had a "tibia plateau fracture". He showed me the x-ray and there it was clear as day, the tibia plateau is actually the top of the outside bone in the bottom part of your leg, this section of the tibia actually forms the bottom of the knee joint itself, the fracture would need to be evaluated using at CT scan.

When the CT Scan was ready ... we discussed the fracture .. he showed me that the fracture extended vertically from the joint self down into the bone and clearly surgery was indicated.

We discussed what would need to be done and who would perform the surgery .... I like to be an informed consumer and this was happening way to fast for me, but when he mentioned that Dr Cole or his associate Dr Nguyen would perform the surgery I was greatly relieved, I knew of Dr Cole's reputation from a previous surgery (that turned out to be non malignant).

I was admitted that evening and taken into surgery the next morning. Dr Nguyen inserted 5 screws into my left knee .... I left the hospital for home the following day. No cast .... just an "immobilizer" or temp cast that I needed to use to walk with. I was amazed to see 5 small spots where Dr Nguyen had inserted the screws and the 4 spots where they had immobilized the bone during surgery.

I was instructed NOT to place more then 20 lbs on the broken leg, to keep up with the 5 or 6 exercises I needed to perform every day as physical therapy.

This is 2 weeks post surgery ... and I no longer need the "immobilizer" .. the x-rays indicate everything is healing perfectly. I have significant flexibility in the joint already and I'm cleared to return to the pool to swim.

He estimates that I will be off the crutches in 6 weeks and back in the sky very soon

Anybody who has experienced this type of injury knows how long the recovery is AFTER the cast comes off ... and how much flexibility you usually loose in the joint .. permantly !

If you ever find yourself in need .. get yourself to Florida Hospital or at least have your surgeon consult with one of these Dr's before the surgery ... it can make the difference between being back in the sky .... or walking with a limp the rest of your life.


Kevin Fenaughty
Orlando, FL

99% of the people on this earth are sheep ... dare to be different

[adventurechick 0]

Are there any good orthopedists there who are good with ankles, casts, and physical therapy for a broken Talus bone in orlando?

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