Orthopaedic Sports Medicine Surgery
For people who play sports, occasional injuries are unavoidable. Most often, conservative treatments such as medications, injections and physical therapy are all you need to get back in the game.
But sometimes, nonsurgical treatment isn’t enough. At the Memorial Orthopaedic Surgery & Sports Medicine Center, our experienced orthopedic surgeons offer advanced surgical techniques to treat athletes, dancers and anyone else who wants to stay active.
What Is Orthopaedic Sports Medicine Surgery?
Surgery for sports injuries combines sports medicine and orthopaedics, which is care for musculoskeletal conditions and injuries that affect bones, joints, muscles, ligaments and tendons. Our skilled team of orthopaedic surgeons has extensive expertise in the latest minimally invasive and open surgery techniques.
We begin with a thorough evaluation to understand the injury or condition. From there, we discuss your treatment options – which may include surgery when conservative treatment options are no longer effective.
Why Choose Memorial for Sports Medicine Surgery?
From professional athletes and dancers to weekend warriors and people who want to stay active, people across Broward County come to Memorial for our:
- Board-certified, fellowship-trained surgeons: Our surgeons hold board certifications in orthopedic surgery and have fellowship training in sports medicine and orthopedic trauma. They specialize in surgery for injuries, conditions and fractures, even the most complex. At Memorial, you’ll receive care from some of the best orthopedic surgeons in Broward County.
- Collaborative approach: We work with other specialists in the Memorial Orthopaedic Surgery & Sports Medicine Center and in departments across Memorial to coordinate the services you need. We provide seamless, personalized care to manage your treatment and follow-up.
- Comprehensive surgical services: Our surgeons and their teams treat all types of musculoskeletal diseases, conditions and injuries, including sports injuries, osteoporosis-related fractures and chronic orthopaedic conditions such as osteoarthritis.
- Complete postoperative care: Our surgeons prescribe personalized rehabilitation and physical therapy regimens with our sports physical therapists to enhance your recovery and quickly get you back to the activities you enjoy.
- Team medical services: We’re proud to serve as team doctors for the men’s and women’s sports teams at Florida Memorial University. Our experience working with teams at all levels means that we understand your unique health needs as an athlete. For team coverage, we meet weekly with players to provide customized care.
Sports Medicine Surgery: Our Diagnostic Process
Whether or not you’ve already seen your primary care provider for your symptoms or injury, we begin with a thorough evaluation, where we:
- Conduct a physical exam
- Review your medical history
- Discuss your symptoms
- Discuss the history of any injuries and your athletic history
For all of our patients, we typically take X-rays, which we can do in our offices. You may also need further testing to confirm a diagnosis or rule out other conditions. We offer the following imaging technologies:
- MRI uses radio waves, a powerful magnetic field and a computer to produce detailed images of soft tissue such as cartilage, tendons (tissue that connects bone to muscle) or ligaments (tissue that connects bone to bone).
- CT scans take cross-sectional images that a computer compiles into 3D images, providing a detailed view of bone anatomy so we can check for bone loss and fracture healing. We also use CTs to help us create 3D models for surgery planning.
- MRI arthrogram is a specialized scan where you first receive an injection of a contrast material in a joint, and then we take MRI scans. The contrast provides a detailed image, showing tears in cartilage, tendons or ligaments.
- Fluoroscopy produces live X-rays, like a video, to help with diagnosis and also to guide injections for joint pain relief. We offer this imaging in our offices.
- Ultrasound uses sound waves to generate detailed images of soft tissue to check for tears, bleeding or other problems.
- Arthroscopy is a minimally invasive procedure we use to view inside joints so we can evaluate and treat injuries such as meniscal tears, ligament injuries and cartilage defects. The surgeon makes a few small incisions to access the hip, knee or shoulder joint and performs various procedures based on the findings.
Read about all types of evaluation procedures for orthopedic problems.
Sports Medicine Surgery and Minimally Invasive Procedures
Our goals for sports injury surgery are to successfully repair injuries and treat conditions so you can get back to the activities you love as soon as possible.
Based on the diagnosis, our orthopedic surgeons determine whether you would benefit from an injection, physical therapy or surgery. Whenever possible, we begin your treatment with nonsurgical management.
Sometimes, however, conservative methods are not sufficient. Or you may have a condition such as a complex fracture or unstable soft tissue injury that requires surgery to repair. In these cases, we discuss surgical options with you, which may include:
Minimally invasive surgery
We often use minimally invasive procedures, which typically minimize pain and other complications and shorten your recovery time. These procedures require only small incisions, rather than one large incision. We offer:
- Arthroscopy: Surgeons use a scope (a thin instrument with a tiny camera) to examine and treat joints using miniature instruments.
- Percutaneous fracture fixation: After making small incisions, surgeons use fluoroscopy to guide them as they align fractures and apply hardware to stabilize bones in the proper position. This technique avoids open surgery and a large incision, resulting in faster recovery and lower risk of complications.
- Anterior hip replacement: Surgeons make a small incision in the front (anterior) of the hip to replace the hip joint. Unlike traditional approaches, the anterior approach avoids cutting muscles, helping minimize pain and speed recovery.
Open Surgery
Minimally invasive procedures are not appropriate to treat certain types of injuries or conditions, such as complex fractures and certain shoulder, knee and elbow tendon or ligament injuries. Nor are they used for revision surgery, which is surgery to correct problems that developed after a previous surgery. For those situations, an open (traditional) surgery provides a more effective and successful treatment.
The main difference between open surgery and a minimally invasive procedure is the type of incision. In open surgery, the surgeon usually makes one long incision. In minimally invasive surgery, there are multiple small ones.
Doctors throughout South Florida refer their patients to us for revision surgery to address complications from previous surgeries they had elsewhere. Read more about our sports medicine surgery for:
Conditions We Treat
Learn more about the conditions we treat with surgery and minimally invasive procedures, including:
- Common sports injuries and complications
- Foot and ankle injuries and conditions
- Hand, wrist and shoulder injuries and conditions
- Hip injuries and conditions
- Knee injuries and conditions
