Upon becoming ill, many patients become conflicted by a sense of loyalty to the family doctor who has treated all the family ailments over the years. Consequently, many patients place trust in the familiar family doctor and stick with the orthopedic surgeon the family doctor suggests as a referral.  However, it is important to consider that Avascular Necrosis can have life-long crippling effects and should thus be considered a disease that absolutely warrants the most qualified specialist available. Furthermore, not all orthopedic surgeons have the same degree of experience treating Avascular Necrosis.

 

Regarding training, all orthopedic surgeons have completed 4 years of undergraduate education, 4 years of medical school and then 5 years of residency. On top of all that education, orthopedic surgeons have to pass a gauntlet of other hurdles such as board exams, peer reviews, and other trials that could crumble mere mortals. Hence, by virtue of being an orthopedic surgeon a doctor has proven to be a top level medical mind. However, the reality is that many, if not most, orthopedic surgeons can go through an entire career without ever treating a single Avascular Necrosis patient.

 

Prior experience treating Avascular Necrosis does matter because even doctors as well-trained as orthopedic surgeons may not have the experience necessary to understand the extreme suffering and the difficult experience of Avascular Necrosis patients unless those doctors have treated Avascular Necrosis patients before. For example, extreme unrelenting pain may change a patient's view of priorities,  while an orthopedic surgeon who is inexperienced in treating Avascular Necrosis may choose to only focus on the patient's long-term health-specific best interests. Thus, the responsibility often falls to the AVN patient to decide if the orthopedic surgeon has not only the medical expertise but also the compassion and understanding necessary to make recommendations that consider the full scope of the AVN patient experience.

 

Orthopedic surgeons are doctors who are trained in the diagnosis and treatment of conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Because the musculoskeletal system is such a large and complicated system, orthopedic surgeons often specialize in specific disciplines such as:

 

As an Avascular Necrosis / Osteonecrosis patient, the first key step in finding the most qualified orthopedic surgeon possible is to search out orthopedic surgeons who specialize in the appropriate body area. For example, it would not be prudent to see an orththopedic surgeon specializing in the hand or foot about  Avascular Necrosis of the hip or knee. Avascular Necrosis / Osteonecrosis is a rare and complicated disease that warrants a surgeon with an intimate and specialized knowledge of the area to be treated.

 

Patients concerned with finding an orthopedic surgeon with prior experience treating Avascular Necrosis may wish to ask a few of the following questions:

 

 

An orthopedic surgeon's answers to the above questions can reveal a lot of information about that particular surgeon's experience and decision-making process.

 

Considering the rarity of the disease and how difficult it is to find an orthopedic surgeon with experience treating Avascular Necrosis, it is usually a very good idea to seek multiple opinions about your case. Receiving multiple opinions will not only help you choose the most qualified doctor, but the process of seeking multiple opinions may also yield new perspectives to treatment options and/or better information about your case.