A Comprehensive Guide on ORIF Surgery

The field of orthopedics has become advanced enough to effectively fix various complicated and uncomplicated orthopedic injuries. Depending upon the severity of the injury or fracture, major or minor surgeries are performed.

When it comes to the most performed orthopedic injuries performed to fix severe issues, then it is open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF). This surgical method will be our point of discussion in this post.

ORIF is often associated with the use of Orthopedic Implants that are required for the stabilization of different types of fractures. These types of surgeries are performed by skilled and experienced professionals. Based on the location and seriousness of the fractures, orthopedic surgeons are often assisted by surgeons of other specialties as well. Let us see what this type of surgery is and why it is performed.

Open Reduction and Internal Fixation (ORIF) – An Overview

Open reduction and internal fixation surgery are most commonly performed to fix the condition where one or more bones are severely broken. The goal of this type of surgery is to bring the broken bone fragments to their correct alignment and ensure bone regrowth. Injuries like displacement, multiple fractures, and unstable fractures are generally fixed with this procedure.

In some cases, where the application of a cast or a splint fails to relieve the condition, the doctor may suggest performing ORIF.

What is Meant by Open Reduction and Internal Fixation?

Open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) is an orthopedic surgical procedure that involves making an incision into the skin around the affected area and fixing the issue. Here, ‘open reduction’ means to realign the fractured bone fragments after making an incision and ‘internal fixation’ means to stabilize & fix those fragments using trauma implants like orthopedic implants plates, bone screws, pins, and wires. In most cases, the implants used are made of medical-grade metal alloys as per ISO standards.

Sometimes, ORIF is also recommended when closed reduction of a fracture does not heal properly or improper healing has occurred.

These implants are known to stay forever in the person’s body even after complete healing of the bone.

If implants need to be removed, another surgery is required to be performed, and it is associated with several serious complications.

A few of the common issues where ORIF is recommended include:

Bone break in multiple pieces
Movement of the bone from its original position

After surgery, the person experiences relief from pain, and the mobility of the affected area is slowly restored. To achieve improved results, it is important to follow all the guidelines stated by the surgeon after ORIF surgery. The most important instructions surgeons give are to rest and avoid putting weight on the operated area for a period of time. The success rate of this surgery will depend upon certain factors, and they include:

Age of the patient
Any health condition the person is suffering from
Location and severity of the fracture
Post-surgical response of the body

How the Decision of ORIF Surgery will be Taken?

The immediate decision for the open reduction and internal fixation will be taken in an emergency, especially in the case of open fractures where the fractured bones protrude out of the skin with blood loss. In other cases, certain tests are required to be performed, and they include:

Physical examination
Blood test
X-ray
CT-scan
MRI scan

ORIF surgery is performed under general or local anesthesia based on the diagnosis of the condition.

The time required for the recovery after surgery will depend upon how big the surgery is along with the seriousness of the condition.

For content sources, contact Siora Surgicals Pvt. Ltd., an experienced and CE-certified manufacturer of a huge range of orthopedic devices. Based in India, Siora is also counted among the best Orthopedic Implants Manufacturers in Malaysia for supplying international standard quality implants.