REVISION SURGERY
There are hundreds of thousands of surgical procedures performed every year the majority of which do very well. Unfortunately in some cases there arise complications which may necessitate further treatments that were originally unplanned. Every person heals differently and sometimes these differences aren't obvious until after surgery, in other cases surgical errors can contribute to complications and sometimes nonadherence to post operative instructions can result in a poor outcome. In other cases there simply may be a failure of an implant since the majority of these are not designed to last forever.
As you can imagine the approach to a surgical complication requires a specific algorithm and a unique revision plan. not every complication needs a surgical procedure to correct it. Sometimes casting, an injection, or wearing a special brace or specific physical therapy may be the only treatment necessary.
The most common situations we see when we are addressing previously performed bone surgery are delayed healing and nonhealing. The terminology used specifically in bones is delayed union and non union. We have very specific definitions to both of these that are based on X ray findings as well as the clinical history.
The next most common bone complication we see is osteomyelitis which is the medical term for bone infection ( click here for more in depth information on this ).
Not every complication is related to bone, after tendon trauma or tendon surgery scar tissue can create a significant problem. This scar tissue can bind tendons and prevent their normal function which can be painful. scar could also create contractures and bend the joints into abnormal positions or simply limit their range of motion.
We also deal with nerve injuries that are many times caused by scar tissue formation or accidental damage.
Of course there may be a number of complications working together that needs to be addressed at the same time.