What are the most common orthopedic surgeries? 

Orthopedic surgery is performed on the musculoskeletal system in case of injuries, trauma, or various conditions. The musculoskeletal system includes bones, joints, and adjacent soft tissues:

• muscles - protecting and allowing movement of bones and joints
• ligaments - connecting the bones
• tendons - connecting the muscles to bones

Most orthopedic surgeries are performed on the ankle, knee, hip, wrist, elbow, shoulder, and spine.

These interventions can be performed either:

• traditionally, by open surgery
• arthroscopically, using an arthroscope

The most common orthopedic surgical procedures

• Arthroscopy, employed to treat problems occurring inside the joint using an arthroscope.
• Soft tissue repair, for torn ligaments and tendons.
• Joint replacement, in which a damaged joint is replaced with a prosthesis.
• Revision joint surgery, in which a preexistent implant is changed with a new one.
• Bone fracture repair with internal fixation, performed when broken pieces of bone are repositioned using metal plates, screws, or pins.
• Debridement, during which damaged soft tissues or bones are removed.
• Fusion of bones, in which bones are fused with grafts.
• Spine fusion, during which the spinal bones (vertebrae) are joined together.
• Osteotomy, aimed at correcting bone deformities.

The most common orthopedic surgical procedures grouped by areas of the body

• Ankle: repair of ankle fracture
• Knee: knee arthroscopy (meniscectomy, chondroplasty, anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction) and knee replacement
• Hip: repair of femoral neck fracture and trochanteric fracture, hip replacement
• Wrist: carpal tunnel release, wrist bone (distal radius) fracture repair
• Shoulder: Shoulder arthroscopy (decompression, distal clavicle excision, rotator cuff tendon repair)
• Spine: laminectomy, lumbar spinal fusion, low back intervertebral disc surgery
• Bones: forearm (radius) bone fracture repair, thigh bone (femoral shaft) fracture repair