 |
| |
|
|
|
||
|
Home Physicians Specialties Appointments Insurance Patient Forms Maps & Directions KCOI History D&D Foundation Carpal Tunnel Antibiotics After Total Joints Ski Injuries |
 |
|
Injured While on Vacation? Call the Dickson-Diveley physician on call: 1-800-531-KNEE (800-531-5633). Snow Ski Injuries Snow skiing is very popular with our patients. Unfortunately, it not only comes with many bumps and bruises, but also occasionally broken bones and ligament injuries. Remember - your injuries are best treated in your home: in Kansas City! There is a disturbing trend among ski areas to put a "hard sell" on patients who are injured on the ski slopes. Almost every orthopaedic injury can be splinted, iced, and protected for a trip home to obtain definitive treatment. You don't want to have surgery by a stranger in one city and have someone else follow it up in another city. When the Dickson-Diveley Clinic has someone from out of town with an injury, we help send them home for care in their home city. If the condition is safe to transfer, we accommodate patients (for example, professional athletes and travelers) to return home to their orthopaedic surgeon. We do not try to put a "hard sell" on patients to get the surgery and then relegate the post-surgical care to someone else. If you have any doubts about your injury, call the Dickson-Diveley Ski Line and talk to our physician on call: 1-800-531-KNEE. Common Ski Injuries: Skier's thumb is one of the most common skiing injuries. It occurs when someone falls on the outstretched hand and bends the thumb back. The ligament torn is the ulnar collateral ligament of the thumb metacarpophalangeal joint. A large percentage of these injuries can be treated in a cast. Virtually all of them can be splinted for safe transport home. If you sustain a ligament injury or a fracture in your thumb or hand, ask the emergency doctor in ski country to splint it so you may return home for definitive care by your Kansas City orthopaedic surgery service. Knee injuries are very common in the sport of skiing. Many knee injuries do not require surgery, for example, medial collateral ligament injuries. Many knee injuries require elective surgery to reconstruct the knee for optimum function. A common ligament injured is the anterior cruciate ligament - commonly called ACL. If this ligament is torn, it is very likely you will need surgical repair of your knee. This operation is elective and frequently done best 2-3 weeks after the accident. If you sustain a twisting injury to your knee and are told that you have a torn ligament in your knee, ask the emergency room physician in ski country if it is safe to splint your knee for the trip home. It is the rare instance where this is not possible. Many managed care organizations consider knee ligament injuries elective procedures and may not honor charges for elective surgery done out of their network. Ask the emergency room physician in ski country to splint your knee for safe transport home to your Kansas City orthopaedic surgeon. Ankle fractures are less common in ski injuries than they were previously. Modern boot designs help protect the ankle. However, they still do occur. Most ankle fractures can be splinted and iced for safe transfer home. Ankle dislocations or severe ankle fractures may benefit from immediate fixation. If you sustain an ankle fracture, ask the emergency room physician in ski country if it can be safely splinted for transfer home. Most fractures are treated best and followed up best by your hometown Kansas City orthopaedic surgeon. Tibia fractures are not uncommon in the sport of skiing. They usually result from a blow to the tibia (for example, a tree) or a twisting force to the leg during a fall. Tibia fractures are most commonly treated surgically with a device called an intramedullary rod - a long rod which goes down the middle of the tibia to hold it in line. Most fractures can be splinted in the city of injury and shipped home for definitive treatment. The use of crutches and a splint and a long-leg cast will stabilize most fractures adequately for transfer. Some tibia fractures may require emergency treatment at the place of injury. However, most fractures can be safely transferred home for care by your local Kansas City orthopaedic surgeon. If you have a tibia fracture, ask the emergency room physician in ski country if it is safe to splint or cast for transfer home. If you have any questions, please call the Dickson-Diveley physician
on call: 1-800-531-KNEE. |
 © Copyright 2006 Dickson-Diveley Midwest Orthopaedic Clinic. All
rights reserved. |
