Abstract
CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE Orthopedic surgery implies high costs for both public and private healthcare. The aim of this study was to better understand the differences between the public and private sectors regarding treatment of a damaged anterior cruciate ligament, which is a common knee injury. DESIGN AND SETTING Descriptive cross-sectional study conducted during the Brazilian Orthopedics Congress in Brasília. METHODS We applied questionnaires during the 2010 Brazilian Orthopedics Congress, with participation by 241 knee surgeons from 24 Brazilian states. This was followed by statistical analysis on the data that were obtained. RESULTS The orthopedic surgeons who were evaluated used different approaches and treatment options in different Brazilian states, comparing between the public and private systems. CONCLUSION Both in the public and in the private systems in Brazil, because of non-medical issues surrounding the treatment, the best medical decision is not always made. This may be harmful both to patients and to physicians.
Highlights
There is an international consensus within the field of orthopedics that surgical treatment is the best option for athletes and active people and should be performed within three weeks of the injury.[1,6,8]
It consisted of 16 multiple-choice questions that covered a variety of topics, including the number of years of experience, the annual number of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstructions performed by the surgeon and several other factors relating both to treatment and to rehabilitation after ACL reconstruction (Appendix 1)
During the 2010 Brazilian Congress of Orthopedics and Traumatology, 226 surgeons from 24 Brazilian states and the Federal District completed the questionnaire, which asked questions regarding their surgical practices within the public healthcare system and private healthcare system and their actions, in relation to 21 different topics
Summary
The ACL has a region of poor vascularization that is located 5-10 mm proximally to the tibial insertion with a transition area between the proximal sections. The blood supply to the ACL is via the medial genicular artery, and the distal section is supplied by the lateral and medial branches of the inferior genicular artery. This architecture confers low potential for healing in this region.[1,7] there is an international consensus within the field of orthopedics that surgical treatment is the best option for athletes and active people and should be performed within three weeks of the injury.[1,6,8]
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