Orthopedic Surgery

Palmdale Regional Medical Center offers a comprehensive range of surgical treatments for orthopedic problems, including:

Hand and Shoulder Surgery

Palmdale Regional Medical Center provides advanced care, including the evaluation and treatment of hand and shoulder injuries, arthritis, congenital deformities, carpal tunnel syndrome, tendon and rotator cuff problems and instability problems of the shoulder.

The hospital offers surgical treatment of acute and chronic problems of the hand, shoulder and upper extremities, including:

• Work-related and other traumatic injuries
• Arthritis (rheumatoid and degenerative)
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Congenital hand injuries and deformities
• Upper extremity pain problems
• Reconstruction following trauma
• Rotator cuff disorder
• Arthritis (replacement surgery)
• Fractures, dislocations, instability

Foot and Ankle Surgery

Orthopedic surgeons at Palmdale Regional Medical Center evaluate, diagnose and treat problems of the foot and ankle, with emphasis on adult reconstruction and revision surgery, traumatic and post-traumatic problems, congenital and developmental disease and deformities. Among the conditions they treat and services they provide are:

• Forefoot abnormalities, deformities, or painful conditions
• Midfoot and hindfoot deformities
• Tendon and ligament problems
• Diabetic foot evaluation and care
• Ankle fractures, arthritis, instability, deformities
• Treatment of non-union fractures
• Reconstruction of traumatic, developmental or congenital deformities

Orthopedic Injuries

Physicians at Palmdale Regional Medical Center evaluate and treat fractures and dislocations of all joints and body extremities, and manage patients who have sustained orthopedic trauma and post-traumatic complications. Special emphasis is placed on the staff's team approach and surgical management of complex orthopedic trauma, as well as post-traumatic reconstruction, including:

• Complex open and closed fractures and dislocations
• Blunt and penetrating bone, joint, muscle, and tendon injuries
• Nonunions, malunions, and infections

Hip and Knee Surgery

Anthem Blue Cross has selected Palmdale Regional Medical Center as a Blue Distinction Center+® for Knee and Hip Replacement. Blue Distinction Centers are nationally designated healthcare facilities that show a commitment to delivering high-quality patient safety and better health outcomes.

A team of orthopedic surgeons, nurses and staff at Palmdale Regional Medical Center evaluate and treat hip and knee problems, including arthritis surgery and joint replacement, and perform hundreds of consultations, surgeries and other treatments.

Total hip replacement is a procedure in which the degenerated cartilage and bone of the hip joint is surgically replaced with artificial materials. This surgery is most often performed to treat progressively severe arthritis in the patient's hip.

The most common type of arthritis leading to total hip replacement is degenerative arthritis (osteoarthritis) of the hip joint. This type of arthritis is generally seen with aging, congenital abnormality of the hip joint, or prior trauma to the hip joint.

Other conditions leading to total hip replacement include bony fractures of the hip joint, and death (necrosis) of the hip bone. Hip bone necrosis can be caused by fracture of the hip, drugs (such as alcohol or corticosteroids), diseases (such as systemic lupus erythematosus), and conditions (such as kidney transplantation).

The progressively intense chronic pain, together with impairment of daily function, such as walking, climbing stairs and even rising from a sitting position, are reasons to consider a total hip replacement. Because replaced hip joints can fail with time, if and when to perform total hip replacement are not easy decisions, especially in younger patients.

Replacement is generally considered after pain becomes so severe that it impedes normal function despite use of anti-inflammatory medications. A total hip joint replacement is an elective procedure, which means that it is an option selected among other alternatives.

Total knee replacement is generally done when a person has a severe degenerative joint disorder such as osteoarthritis in which the articular, or moving, surfaces of the knee deteriorate, leading to severe pain, limitation or loss of function or deformity of the joint. The surgery can also be done to replace a badly fractured knee and when previous joint replacements have failed.

Other treatments are usually used before knee replacement surgery. These include:

• Acetaminophen or anti-inflammatory drugs if the joint has degenerated
• A procedure called synovectomy, which is surgical removal of inflamed synovial tissue, which lubricates moving parts of a joint osteotomy
• Osteotomy, which is restructuring of the bones to shift stresses from diseased tissue to more healthy tissue