The Division of Sports Medicine is the newest division within the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. Established in 2004, it was created to address the increasing demand for the care of our athletic population, both young and old. All our Sports Medicine Consultants have a wealth of experience in general orthopaedic surgery, with a particular interest and emphasis in the treatment of sports injuries.
The Division was established specifically to manage all manner of sports injuries, both nonoperatively as well as operatively, by traditional open procedures as well as arthroscopic (minimally invasive or "scope") surgery. There are 4 physiotherapists from the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine which work closely with the Division in the non-operative management of sports injuries. They are also closely involved in the post-operative care of our patients.
Surgical treatment of knee problems include ligament tears and sprains (such as anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction), and meniscus tears. In some cases, the patient's own mesenchymal stem cells may be used to augment and improve the results of these types of operations. Knee arthritis in younger active patients can be treated with knee arthroscopy in some cases, as well as realignment procedures or minimally invasive partial or total knee replacements. Cartilage injuries may be also be managed by arthroscopic treatment, as well as autologous chondrocyte transplantation (ACI).
Shoulder problems including shoulder dislocation, shoulder instability and labral tears, rotator cuff problems, and even arthritis may be treated either with arthroscopic or open procedures. Foot and ankle, and elbow problems are also common injuries treated by our sports doctors.
The majority of our knee and shoulder sports operations are performed using minimally-invasive techniques with fibreoptic cameras to perform surgery under video magnification (otherwise known as Arthroscopy or Arthroscopic Surgery ). These include arthroscopic ACL surgery, arthroscopic shoulder stabilisation (Bankart operation) and arthroscopic rotator cuff surgery. Furthermore, our sports surgeons are able to perform arthroscopic evaluation and treatment of problems in the elbow, ankle and even hip joints.
Because most of our cases are performed arthroscopically, many of our patients undergo their operations (such as arthroscopic knee and shoulder surgery) as day surgery cases. Our patients recouperate in the hospital's day surgery ward, and are discharged several hours after surgery. Minimally-invasive surgical techniques are combined with the appropriate use of advanced methods of local and regional anaesthesia to minimise the duration and severity of pain and discomfort to patients after surgery. These help to reduce the costs of surgery and increase overall convenience for patients.
Our Orthopaedic Sports Medicine Surgeons are available for consultation daily. For appointments, click here.
