2019 Newsletter

To My Colleagues,
It is my unique honor to present the latest edition of Excellence in Motion, the newsletter of the Department of Orthopaedics at Penn Medicine.

This issue presents a series of articles that reflect an institutional drive to enrich the patient experience at Penn Orthopaedics.

A discussion on the creation of the Penn Integrated Hand Program, for example, captures the practical reality that patients benefit when orthopaedic hand surgeons and hand plastic surgeons join to provide the best possible treatment plan for hand and wrist patients.

This issue features two highlights for the unique patient care available at the Penn Orthoplastic Limb Salvage Center (POLSC):

The first demonstrates the breadth of services available to patients with malunions or nonunions.
The second records the collaborative effort at the POLSC to achieve optimal functional limb reconstruction and practical restoration of the limbs.

Finally, we dive into the effects of Penn Medicine’s opioid reduction initiative and consider a study at Penn Orthopaedics that demonstrated the achievement and ongoing optimization of safe and reasonable reductions in postsurgical opioid prescribing.

Penn Orthopaedics remains at the vanguard of advanced clinical care – enhancing patient quality of life and safety and addressing treatment from a patient perspective in relentless pursuit of exceptional outcomes. I look forward to sharing further highlights with you in the future.

Regards,
L. Scott Levin, MD, FACS

Paul B. Magnuson Professor of Bone and Joint Surgery
Chair, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery
Professor of Surgery, Division of Plastic Surgery
Medical Director, Penn Musculoskeletal Center

Integrated Hand

The hand specialists at Penn Orthopaedics and Penn Plastic Surgery have integrated their services to provide comprehensive care for patients with hand and wrist injuries.
Treatment of Nonunion and Malunion

Despite the quality of care received at initial fracture treatment, as many as 20% of fractures may result in a malunion or nonunion. The causes of these healing defects are often difficult to identify and complex to treat, requiring specialized training and resources to correct.
Functional Limb Reconstruction

The Penn Orthoplastic Limb Salvage Center (POLSC) is among a handful of programs in the nation combining the principles and practices of orthopaedic surgery and plastic surgery to encompass the preservation and practical restoration of the limbs, hands and feet.
Opioid Crisis

The Penn Medicine Opioid Task Force was established in 2017 as a system-wide program in response to the nationwide opioid crisis.

Integrated Hand

Treatment of Nonunion and Malunion

Functional Limb Reconstruction

Opioid Crisis