Dr. Dujela Chapter on Evidence Based Bunion Surgery
Click to read Dr. Dujela's Chapter on Evidence Based Bunion Surgery
Frozen shoulder: from freezing to thawing, a guide to repossessing your shoulder
If you’ve experienced shoulder pain, you know it can be one of the most debilitating forms of pain. A painful shoulder can make everyday tasks like picking up a cup to sleeping seem impossible. The dull toothache feeling of chronic inflammation in a shoulder is enough to make just about anyone go mad. Sometimes, as ongoing shoulder pain prevents someone from using his or her shoulder, the condition can turn into a disease called frozen shoulder. Women Adults of 40-60 years of age Those with diabetes Frozen shoulder most often occurs in a 3-step process.* Freezing (6 weeks– 9 months): This phase begins with progressing tightness in the shoulder capsule as the tendons that comprise the shoulder movers become more stiff, scar tissue forms, and the amount of synovial fluid(lubricant for your shoulder joint) decreases. The freezing stage is typically the most painful stage. Frozen (4-6 months): The shoulder capsule is extremely tight making daily activities very difficult. However, the pain experienced in the “freezing” stage is less severe. Thawing (6 months – 2 years): The stiffness and pain in the shoulder slowly recede as daily activities become easier to complete. As you can tell, recovery from a frozen shoulder is no [...]
Unmatched Expertise: Dr. Scott Slattery
Dr. Scott Slattery Perhaps you know Dr. Slattery. As a small town doctor, you’ve likely run into him at the grocery store, seen him at local high school, sporting events, or maybe even ran into him at school-related activities. Dr. Slattery and his family have lived in Lewis County since 1999 and while he may seem like your average guy when you see him around the community, he’s more than average when it comes to his professional career and achievements. He began by attending Loma Linda School of Medicine in California. After completing his medical education in orthopedic surgery and sports medicine through Loma Linda, he moved on to work as a surgeon at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia. Yet, he did more than work as a surgeon while at the base, he also served as Chief of the Department of Orthopaedics and Podiatry at 1st Medical Group Hospital. His time here provided for him opportunities to treat rare and complicated injuries. He has lived in Lewis County, with his family, since 1999 He quickly used his expertise to assist the local high schools and Centralia Community College during sporting events and volunteered to be an on-site doctor for [...]
Washington Orthopaedic Center – Patient Reviews
General Reviews - Everyone has been great. Every phone call email and visit has made me feel valued as a client. I'm not sure if I can explain it clearly. Each person I have encountered has shown this and has made sure all of my needs were met. Just simply amazing! Customer service must be a priority and a value! - All staff were professional and friendly to both me and my family. - I have received the best care - I'm quite pleased with the progress! - Great staff! - The MA Kelsey Moorecraft did a wonderful job today first time I have had her at an appointment here. Keith R Birchard M.D. Reviews - I was happy with the whole procedure and with the results - Truly a professional! Throughout my care dating back to June Dr. Birchard discussed all options clearly and included me in decisions. I have never felt so involved in my care. He has set the bar very high for all others. - Thank you did excellent - Got us in quickly Michael D Dujela D.P.M. Reviews - Dr. Dujela has performed both of my ankle fusions and I have been very happy with his care [...]
Cortisone: A Quick Relief Guide to Orthopedic’s Most Common Injection
Cortisone: A Quick Relief Guide to Orthopedic’s Most Common Injection I injured my hip entering my sophomore year of high school. I was a top ranked discus thrower and although I managed to get off one great throw during an early in the season meet, my distances quickly diminished after reinsuring my hip in practice. Running became difficult, and soon enough, I was hardly able to train due to the discomfort in my hip. My primary care physician referred me to Dr. Slattery at Washington Orthopedic Center, and after exploring different options Dr. Slattery and I decided to move ahead with a cortisone injection. Now I won’t say the injection was a miracle worker; I didn’t make state that year in discus nor did my pain vanish. However, the cortisone did give my body the advantage it needed to overcome the chronic inflammation in my hip and make a return to full sport participation in the following years. That’s what cortisone does; it provides a kick-start of sorts to prevent an overactive recovery system. To understand what a cortisone injection does, you first need to understand inflammation. Perhaps the most popular term in health sciences right now, inflammation in the product of [...]
What You Need to Know About ACL Tear & Repair
For athletes and “wanna-be” athletes alike, an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear is one of the most feared injuries one can sustain. More common in females than males, and commonly seen in sports requiring quick changes of direction, the ACL is typically torn as an athlete plants their foot on the ground with an extended leg and rotates internally. Accidents involving falling from some height with an extended knee can also results in an ACL tear. The initial injury may be accompanied by a “snap” or “pop,” but often doesn’t keep an athlete from walking off the field under their own weight. In fact, some people may go an extended period of time, months to years, with lingering knee pain only to find out they actually tore their ACL long ago. Unlike other areas of the body that have self-repairing tissue, an ACL tear will not repair itself. Thus, the only corrective treatment for a torn ACL is found through surgery. While the only real fix for an ACL tear lies within surgery, chances are you will get three different answers from three different orthopedic surgeons if you ask each of them how they repair an ACL. From the angles that surgeons [...]
Life Can Be A Pain In The… Foot?
A guide to fixing the base of your big toe: 1st MTP arthrodesis Life can be a pain in the foot, and trust me, you’ll quickly realize how much a painful foot can control your life once it really starts hurting. For some, myself included, it’s flat feet that lead to a host of complications, while for others the pain started when a weight was dropped on their foot. A common issue is found at the base of your big toe, officially called the first metatarsal-phalangeal joint. Whether the pain at the 1st MTP joint is caused by a foot deformity, chronically wearing bad footwear, or from an acute injury, the pain can be significantly detrimental to one’s quality of life due to the natural push off from the big toe during activities like walking and running What causes the pain? No matter the origin of the pain, acute or gradual, the eventual chronic pain is caused by the wearing down of cartilage between the two bones that form the MTP joint. The lack of cartilage leads to inflammation in the joint, osteophytes (small bones fragments) that grind inside the joint, and the development of arthritis in and around the joint, which [...]
Have a Chronically Dislocating Kneecap? We Can Fix That!
Anyone can dislocate his or her kneecap, or patella, given enough torque. Young, old, muscle bound, or lean, it doesn’t matter much. The real difference maker is your anatomy. If you, or someone you know, have a chronically shifting patella, know that there is a safe and secure way to fix your knee and that Washington Orthopaedic Center has providers with years of experience doing just that. The knee joint primarily consists of three bones, the femur, tibia, and the patella. The fibula is more or less along for the ride here. The femur has two large condyles on either side of the knee, which is what you feel when you palpate the sides of your knees, and in between the condyles lies a groove called a trochlea. Naturally, the patella glides in the trochlea as the knee flexes and extends, fixed in the middle by the two opposing condyles. This is where things get interesting. With enough internal rotation under pressure with a knee flexed between 20 and 40 degrees, the patella can slip out of the trochlea. For the most part, anyone with average knee anatomy won’t ever experience his or her patella shifting outside normal position. However, people exhibiting [...]
The Surgical Scheduling Process Demystified
Prior to working in a surgical setting, I always thought that once it is decided to have orthopedic surgery, you would be put on the next available surgery spot with your Surgeon, and that was that. Now I know it is not that simple. Nothing is ever that simple; there is a rather extensive process to even be on the surgery schedule. When I first started learning about this process, it seemed overwhelming to me. However, after a few deep breaths and getting to know the awesome staff at Washington Orthopaedic Center, I now know that the process is very manageable. And just like me, you will have the wonderful staff at WOC to help guide you on your journey to wellness. The first step on this wellness journey is obviously coming to WOC with an orthopedic issue. You will first be scheduled with a provider to assess any injuries and issues that can be treated by one of our orthopedic specialists. In the clinic, the provider will look into non-surgical options first and work with you, the patient, to see what works best for your lifestyle. We always strive to do the least invasive option whenever possible for our patients. Once [...]
Washington Orthopaedic Center – Patient Reviews
General Comments - The team is solid from front office to X-ray to surgery center and everything in between. - The receptionist Stacy is so very kind and explained about the scheduling that Dr. said. She is so compassionate to the patients. - You are the answer to my prayers for help with my arthritic legs and the stiff walking. You give me hope! - This facility and their staff are awesome. - I enjoyed my 2 visits everyone was amazing! Clean comfortable building. Great to know where to go if I need you again Christy thank you! - The Staff at the clinic are very professional courteous and expeditious in their services. I would definitely highly recommend their practice to anyone seeking any Orthopedic services. - I'm so happy you now have an office in Olympia. - Glad to have such a high quality facility in our area. - I really like having the Tumwater location as an option Keith R Birchard M.D. Comments - Dr Birchard is very personable man. I very happy he is my Dr - Easy to talk to very understanding listen to my priblem and explained to me what the problem was in laymens terms. - [...]
