Emergency Trauma, Advanced Fracture & Accident Care

Fractures result from trauma to the bone that is in excess of what the bone can tolerate. A fracture can be the culmination of repetitive trauma or overuse. Lastly, fractures come about as a result of high impact events such as falls, motor vehicle accidents, or athletic events.
Fractures are typically diagnosed by plain x-rays, although more sophisticated tests such as MRI, CAT scans, or bone scan may be necessary to diagnose and/or treat fractures. Even though x-rays taken immediately after an injury will demonstrate a fracture, there are certain situations when the x-ray may not be diagnostic until 10-14 days after the trauma.
Genesis’s orthopaedic trauma physicians treat and provide care for issues including:
- Sudden and severe musculoskeletal trauma
- Primary repair of simple fractures
- Complex pelvic and acetabular fractures
- Reconstruction for periarticular fractures (fractures around or in joints)
- Long-term rehabilitation for debilitating post-traumatic issues or complications that may arise, including fracture nonunion, malunion, and chronic osteomyelitis
The multidisciplinary team uses a collaborative approach to develop individualized care plans to help you return to normal activities as quickly as possible with the most appropriate treatment and rehabilitation for their particular orthopaedic injury or fracture.
- The goal of treatment of fractures by our physicians is to allow fracture healing while maintaining the form and function of the bone and the surrounding structures. This means taking measures to allow the joints adjacent to the broken bone to move as soon as suitable, yet protecting the broken bone. Treatment of the fracture is dependent on the severity of the fracture, which bone is broken, and most importantly the status of you. Our surgeons will determine if the fracture needs to be reduced (straightened out). The fracture may be treated in a splint, cast, or brace. In many instances the best way to optimally achieve treatment goals is to treat the fracture by surgery to straighten the bone and possibly insert pins, plates, screws, or rods.