What is an orthopedic surgeon? You may have been told that you have an injury, and you should get an evaluation with an orthopedic surgeon. So how is an orthopedic surgeon different from another doctor?
In this video, Dr. J. Michael Bennett talks about the differences between orthopedic surgeons and other medical doctors. Doctor Bennett is a Board Certified Orthopedic Surgeon and Fellowship Trained Sports Medicine Specialist serving patients in the Metro Houston area from clinics in Sugar Land and in Houston, near the Houston Galleria. He specializes in treating issues of the shoulders, elbows, knees, and some issues with the hand and wrist such as carpal tunnel syndrome.
Dr. Bennett has been selected as a Texas Super Doctor® for multiple years. He’s also a member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.
Dr. Bennett recorded this video to explain what an orthopedic surgeon does for his patients and how that’s different from what might be offered by other medical specialists.
Hello. I’m Dr. J. Michael Bennett. I’m here to discuss today exactly what is an orthopedic surgeon and exactly what the steps are to becoming an orthopedic surgeon. I think this is very important for anyone that’s looking for an orthopedic surgeon or any specialist; that you educate yourself in their background, their board specialization or whether or not they’re board certified, and what their sub-specialty is as well.
So first off, starting with the basics, every physician goes to medical school, finishes medical school and gets an M.D. You are a doctor at that point; however, you pick your specialty after medical school and that’s where you do your residency training which is where you get a little bit of a sub-specialization.
Some people go into internal medicine, some into OB-Gyn, some people go into orthopedic surgery. Orthopedic surgery is the study of the musculoskeletal system, particularly the kinematics and surgical options for muscle, tendon and bone. Our goal is to get active patients back to their previous activities as well as getting patients that have sustained traumatic falls, injuries and developed fractures back to an ambulatory stage, where they can walk and resume daily activities. So any time you see an orthopedic surgeon, his or her specialty is dealing with muscle, tendon and bone and surgical intervention.
Now there are doctors out there that take care of musculoskeletal injury or diagnoses and some of those are rheumatologists and others are family practice sports medicine physicians. It’s key to understand that they are non-operative. If you require surgery or you’re thinking of something surgical that needs to be done, then you must see an orthopedic surgeon. Rheumatologists will typically treat patients medically, with medication or injections, and sports medicine family practice physicians will usually treat patients non-operatively with things like injections, physical therapy regimens as well as medically along with any number of other health concerns or problems that you have as well in addition to your orthopedic issues.
So once again if you are looking for something surgical or a surgical option then you would see an orthopedic surgeon. Now we do treat strains and sprains as well; we do deal with a lot of non-operative issues such as management of arthritis or tendonitis or bursitis. But more often than not, if the patients do not respond to the conservative measures that we offer then surgery is in our arsenal of options that we have available to you.
As always, do your due diligence in picking your surgeon, discuss your surgical options, and never ever hesitate in asking for a second opinion. If you have any questions regarding these issues please feel free to contact my office. Thank you.
If you’d like an appointment at our Sugar Land Clinic, please call Dr. Bennett at 281-633-8600 and if you’d like an appointment at our Houston Galleria clinic, please call 713-234-3152.
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