Orthopedics

Femoral Neck Fracture
What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Hip and Knee Replacement Surgery
by Ronald P. Grelsamer, M.D.
People come into this world under the brim of the pelvis and leave it by the neck of the femur. This is a medical adage that goes back many centuries, as hip fractures were terminal events until the advent of surgery.

Hip replacement
What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Hip and Knee Replacement Surgery
by Ronald P. Grelsamer, M.D.
With hip replacement surgery, you don't have to worry about the bone not healing (there are no longer two pieces of bone that need to heal together!) and osteonecrosis is not a concern because the part of the bone that dies (the femoral head) has been

Osteonecrosis
What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Hip and Knee Replacement Surgery
by Ronald P. Grelsamer, M.D.
It's easy to think of bone as a piece of wood. That's because the only bone you've ever seen (presumably) is on your dinner plate. But bone is a very living tissue. It is richly supplied with blood vessels and it is constantly being broken down and built

Osteonecrosis, Part 2
What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Hip and Knee Replacement Surgery
by Ronald P. Grelsamer, M.D.
The staging of AVN. AVN exists in varying degrees of severity. A number of staging classifications have developed over time to assist in communication and treatment. For example, your doctor might indicate in his report that you have Stage III AVN

Back Pain
Ask a Nurse
by Geraldine Bednash Ph.D., RN, FAAN, American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN)
Back pain, triggered when you strain the muscles near your spine, is a very common condition, affecting some 80 percent of adults at some time in their lives. Back pain can occur anywhere in the spine, as well as in the neck

How Doctors Miss Femoral Neck Fractures
What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Hip and Knee Replacement Surgery
by Ronald P. Grelsamer, M.D.
Can you believe they missed my mother's fracture over at City General? Sent her right out of the emergency room! We took her to County General a few days later, where they said the fracture was very clear.

Why Doctors Misinform You
What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Knee Pain and Surgery : Learn The Truth About MRIs And Common Misdiagnoses - And Avoid Unnecessary Surgery
by Ronald P. Grelsamer, M.D.
DOCTORS ARE EARNEST AND INTELLIGENT, ARE BLESSED WITH an excellent memory, and are dedicated to making people feel better. For the most part. Alas, there also exists a being I call the LK-SS (Limited Knowledge-Suspect Scruples) doctor.

Who Needs a Joint Replacement?
What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Hip and Knee Replacement Surgery
by Ronald P. Grelsamer, M.D.
There isn't as much deception with joint replacement surgery as there is with outpatient arthroscopies (see What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Knee Pain and Surgery, Warner Books, 2002). If your doctor has suggested a joint replacement