An Orthopod at NOF. Why??

Why would / should an orthopod attend NOF?  What could an Orthopod possibly know about Osteoporosis?  What could an Orthopod contribute at NOF?

Orthopedic surgeons deal with lousy bone daily.  Many fractures are the results of poor bone quality plus minor trauma.  Orthopods see the bone from the inside.  We should know “osteoporosis” when we see it.  Certainly we know poor bone when we try to deal with it.

Seriously osteoporotic bone is like a stale English muffin in appearance.  Often seriously osteoporotic bone is weaker than that stale muffin when you try to put screws into it.  Sometimes the bone is like a wet muffin and all you can do is push the mush around the screws and pray for a miracle.  (Do orthopods really believe that this bone is “good enough” that preserving it with an antiresorptive will really prevent future fractures?)

Knowing that the primary care provider is pre-occupied by issues of fluid balance, congestive failure, diabetes, hypertension, orthostatic hypotension, dilutional anemia and borderline renal failure, the orthopod is left to alert patient and family to osteoporosis treatment and prevention of future fractures.  Learning a bit about bone metabolism helps.  That’s why I am here.

Jay Ginther, MD

May 2011

Categorised in: Healthcare Professionals, Osteoporosis