MDNews - Cleveland-Akron-Canton

Grant Medical Center in Columbus. Dr. Kurtz graduated from University of North Dakota School of Medicine and completed his fellowship training in orthopaedic trauma at Methodist Hospital of Indiana. Both doctors joined Akron General in 2010. "Othopaedic traumatology cases are the most challenging. You have to think on your feet and come up with a plan to deal with the most difficult situations," says Dr. Kurtz. "If you're trained [in orthopaedic traumatology], usually you can take care of whatever problems you're presented with." Subspecialized Services Drs. Vrabec, Kurtz and DiNicola have a long list of capabilities. These include surgica l a nd nonsurgica l treatments of fractured bones and joints, complex upper extremity reconstr uction, pelv ic a nd acet abula r fracture surgery, minimally invasive bone grafting for limb restoration, bone and joint reconstruction and replacement, corrective surgery for nonunions and malunions, complex soft tissue reconstruction, and treatment for bone infections and osteomyelitis. Most surgeries are performed minimally invasively — even for internal fixation of pelvic fractures. In the past, externa l f ixation dev ices, which Dr. DiNicola describes as "looking like an erector set sticking out of the pelv i s ," w ou ld h a mp er a p a t ient 's movement and activity for 12 weeks or more. He points out that now even big pelvic ring injuries can be stabilized with internal fixers placed subcutaneously through three small incisions, each less than an inch long. "It really makes a big difference...in lower infection rates, in smaller wounds and better cosmesis, and in how patients perceive their injury." Minima lly inva sive surger y to restore segmental pieces of bone — lost, for example, in a car accident — is another procedure the three doctors routinely perform. Nicholas DiNicola, mD (left), and William Kurtz, mD (right), perform a complex orthopaedic trauma surgery at akron general. Dr. Kurtz explains, "It's a staged procedure. We place a spacer in that area for a few weeks, and then, after the soft tissue starts to form an envelope around it, we use different types of bone graft to fill the void." The Road to Recovery Therapy — including physical and occupational, inpatient and outpatient — plays a big role in recovery. While hospital stays are usually less than a week, rehab can last for several months or even years. "Akron General Edwin Shaw Rehab is leading the way in getting trauma patients functioning as quickly as possible. We work in concert with the therapists," says Dr. Vrabec. Research also plays an important role. At Kenneth Calhoun Research Laboratory, on Akron General's main campus, biomechanical testing is conducted on the plates, screws and implants used in fracture repair. Clinical research is also being conducted by Drs. Vrabec, Kurtz and DiNicola on new techniques, for example, to repair pelvic fractures and different ways to treat femoral neck fractures in young patients. According to Dr. Vrabec, a femoral neck fracture can be devastating to a teenager or young adult. "In young, active people, keeping your own hip is more important than whether or not you have the technology to replace it. So, we have some techniques and a philosophy of trying to preserve hips in young trauma patients as much as possible," he says. While most of their patients are introduced via the emergency department, many patients are referred by primary care physicians, as well as by other orthopaedic surgeons who need another level of expertise to help care for their patients. Patients with severe traumatic injuries can be transferred quickly to Akron General's Trauma Center, by ambulance or by MedFlight's helicopter service, with just a phone call 800-DOC-AGMC (362-2462). "Being a Level I Trauma Center means you have the 24/7/365 capability of taking care of anything that comes through the door. You have to have the neurosurgeons, plastic surgeons, intensivists and orthopaedic trauma surgeons. And that's certainly what we have," says Dr. Vrabec. "There's really no injury that we can't take care of." For m ore inf or m at i on , v i s it www.akrongeneral.org. To refer a patient to an Akron General orthopaedic trauma surgeon, call 330-344-BONE (2663). ■ JULY-AUGUST 2013 ■ MDNEWS.COM ■ MD News Cleveland/Akron/Canton | 23

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