(MENAFN - The Peninsula) The Orthopedic Department at Al Wakra Hospital which provides a holistic approach to bones and joints problems has introduced several non-conservative, non-surgical treatment methods and it cared for more than 20,000 individuals in 2019.

The department provides care for all types of orthopedic problems at outpatient clinics and performs surgeries with modern and advanced methods, said Dr Nebal Mohammed Shaath, Senior Consultant, Orthopedic Surgery at Al Wakra Hospital.

'We are a team of highly trained professionals who work collaboratively to provide our patients with the highest standard of care. We see patients at clinics and do surgeries. At the emergency room, we provide 24-hour services to analyse patients with fractures. We use the most advanced technology and services in fixing fractures.

'We also focus on education and teach students from Qatar University and the Weill Cornell Medicine, Qatar, he told The Peninsula.

Main causes of fractures seen at Al Wakra Hospital are due to domestic and work related accidents such as falls, road traffic accidents and sport injuries.

The number of people operated for fractures and orthopedic problems at the Al Wakra Hospital has increased from 435 in 2017 to more than 524 in 2019.

The Orthopedic Department at Al Wakra Hospital operates 11 clinics daily, which include 9 for orthopedic and two for fractures, but on Tuesdays the number of clinics for fractures increases to three. Between January 1 and November 30 this year, the clinics have seen a total of 22,725 patients including 17, 453 with orthopedic problems and 5,272 with fractures.

Individuals going to Al Wakra Hospital have the chances of undergoing either a minimally invasive surgery (MIS), anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction or arthroscopy depending on their condition.

'These surgical procedures should minimise the damages to the body tissues to reduce the postoperative pain, so as to start rehabilitation exercises early; to facilitate functional recovery; and to improve the outcomes of the surgical treatment, said Dr Shaath.

MIS is the trend of development in modern surgery. Its research, application and popularisation in the field of orthopaedic trauma are well demonstrated in the development of current osteosynthesis.'We do MIS for people who have comminuted fractures anywhere in upper or lower limbs, said Dr Shaath.

When the ACL in the knee is torn or injured, a surgery may be needed to replace it. There are many different ways to do this operation. One is to take a piece of the hamstring tendons from behind the knee and use it in place of the torn ligament.

'When arranged into three or four strips, the hamstring graft has nearly the same strength as other available grafts used to reconstruct the ACL, said Dr Shaath.

Arthroscopy (also called arthroscopic or keyhole surgery) is a minimally invasive surgical procedure on a joint in which an examination and sometimes treatment of damage meniscus is performed using an arthroscope, an endoscope that is inserted into the joint through a small incision.

Also three types of injections are available at Al Wakra Hospital to be given at any joint.

Injections are an integral part of conservative, non-surgical treatment methods used by the orthopedic specialists to relieve pain and inflammation in the body.

For some patients, doctors at Al Wakra hospital use Synvisc a viscosupplement injection that supplements the fluid in the knee to help lubricate and cushion the joint, and can provide up to six months of osteoarthritis knee pain relief.

In other cases, doctors may use platelet-rich plasma (PRP) on injuries or inflammation to tendons, ligaments, and joints that do not need surgical intervention.

'To collect plasma, a doctor draws blood from your body and uses a machine to separate the platelet-rich plasma from the rest of the blood. Then the doctor uses a needle to inject your plasma into the area of your body being treated using aseptic (sterile-clean) technique, but not on infected areas or joints , said Dr Shaath.

'It is available at Al Wakra Hospital for almost a year and about 400 patients have received it, he added.

The third type is steroid injection given in the joints on selected patients only but commonly used to treat inflammatory conditions of tendons.

Steroid injections, also called corticosteroid injections, are only given by health care professionals.

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