What Is Osteotomy?

Surgery to cut and reshape your bones is known as osteotomy. It is done to repair a damaged joint. It can shorten or lengthen a deformed bone that does not line up with a joint as it should.

Being sick or old does not affect osteotomy. Many young, healthy people had this surgery to postpone hip or knee replacement for years.

Types of Osteotomy

This procedure can resolve the problems of many different bones and joints.

• Hip: Reshaping your hip socket so that it better covers the ball of your hip joint.
• Jaw: The bones in some faces do not line up with the bite of their teeth. A lower jaw osteotomy moves it to a new and correct position.
• Big toe: A segment of bone can be removed from your big toe to straighten it and prevent it from jamming into other toes.
• Chin: To narrow a square or broad chin plastic surgeons use osteotomy.
• Knee: A kneecap if not straight can be painful, and arthritis can make the situation worse. In a knee osteotomy, either the upper shinbone lower thighbone are cut and reshaped. This reduces the pressure on the damaged side of your knee joint.
• Spine: A wedge-shaped piece of bone from a section of your spine is removed to correct a swayback or reduce a hunchback.

How’s an Osteotomy Done?

It can be a complex surgery where you need to choose a medical centre that does this type of procedure often.

 Your doctor will discuss your anaesthesia option as per the requirement. Many people have general anaesthesia, to fall asleep during the surgery. If the osteotomy is going to be done in the lower half portion of your body, you can choose a spinal tap instead. This allows you to stay numb below the waist along with staying awake.

Recovery

It takes a while to heal from an osteotomy. The site of the surgery will be very sore and you have to avoid putting any pressure on it. If you have a knee or hip osteotomy, you won’t be able to walk for several months. You’ll need to use crutches and have to undergo physical therapy to strengthen your leg muscles and regain your balance. After a jaw osteotomy will be on an all-liquid diet for 6 weeks. If an osteotomy is done on your big toe, you won’t be able to wear shoes or drive for at least 2 to 6 weeks.

Conclusion

Overweight people take a longer time to heal. Smoking and excessive alcohol can slow the healing process, too. So it is very important to take proper and timely medicines for a fast recovery. Talk to your doctor in detail about the procedure and your queries.