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Orthopaedic Surgeon |
Career OverviewOrthopaedic surgeons are trained in investigating, restoring and preserving the function and form of patient’s spine, extremities and associated structures by surgical, physical or medical means. Some of the musculoskeletal problems that an orthopaedic surgeon is involved with are:
- Congenital deformities
- Tumors
- Deformities
- Trauma
- Metabolic disturbances of the musculoskeletal system
- Infections
- Injuries
- Degenerative diseases in adults and children of the spine, elbow, hands, shoulder, feet, hip and knee
An orthopaedic surgeon is involved with both secondary and primary muscular problems and the musculoskeletal issues of the peripheral or central nervous system lesions.
An orthopaedic surgeon examines a patient, diagnosis, cares for and surgically treats their musculoskeletal injuries, disorders and diseases. They train orthopaedics surgeons in investigating, preserving and restoring the function and form of the spine, associated structures and extremities by surgical, medical and physical means.
Orthopaedic surgeons commonly use surgical reconstruction to replace degenerated or malformed joints with laser surgery, arthroscopy, shoulder arthroplasty or laboratory cloned cartilage.
An orthopaedic surgeon often uses laser surgery to sculpt, trim or remove torn cartilage in injured areas such as the knee. Arthroscopy is a minimally invasive operation used to repair a muscular disorder such as a damaged joint. The orthopaedic surgeon makes a tiny incision and uses an arthroscope to examine and then make repairs to the joint.
They use shoulder arthroplasty on fractures that are sport-related or on patients with rheumatoid or osteoarthritis. This operation replaces the patient’s ball and socket joint in the shoulder. Orthopaedic surgeons are now able to implant laboratory-cloned cartilage into a patients damaged knee to help repair the tissue.
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Career RequirementsThe formal education and training required is undergraduate and medical school for four years each and then an orthopaedic surgeon requires one year in general surgery with an additional four years in orthopaedic training. Before final certification he or she is required to complete an additional two years of clinical practice after residency. Training in a subspecialty area requires another year of training.
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Job OutlookThere is always a demand for experienced orthopaedic surgeons especially in large cities and densely populated areas. With the healthcare industry continually expanding, the need for orthopaedic surgeons also increases. In addition, with many surgeons retiring through the year 2014 due to the baby boomers, orthopaedic surgeons are needed to replace them.
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Career TrackSome of the areas an orthopaedic surgeon may choose to specialize are:
- Pediatric orthopaedics
- Adult reconstructive orthopaedics
- Orthopaedic trauma
- Hand surgery
- Orthopaedic sports medicine
- Musculoskeletal oncology
- Ankle and foot orthopaedics
- Orthopaedic spine surgery
They may also choose to go into research, become educators or choose a consulting field. Orthopaedic surgeons work very closely with rheumatologists and other health care professionals, often serving as a consultant to them. Because of the increased interest in sports-related accidents, many orthopaedic surgeons choose to specialize in sports medicine.
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CompensationAn orthopaedic surgeon’s annual salary for a surgeon just starting out is approximately $275,000 and ranges to approximately $468,300 after three plus years of practice.
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