Reduction is a
surgical procedure
Surgery ''cheirourgikē'' (composed of χείρ, "hand", and ἔργον, "work"), via la, chirurgiae, meaning "hand work". is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a person to investigate or treat a pa ...
to repair a
fracture
Fracture is the separation of an object or material into two or more pieces under the action of stress. The fracture of a solid usually occurs due to the development of certain displacement discontinuity surfaces within the solid. If a displ ...
or
dislocation
In materials science, a dislocation or Taylor's dislocation is a linear crystallographic defect or irregularity within a crystal structure that contains an abrupt change in the arrangement of atoms. The movement of dislocations allow atoms to s ...
to the correct alignment.
Description
When a
bone
A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, ...
fractures, the fragments lose their alignment in the form of
displacement or angulation. For the fractured bone to heal without any
deformity
A deformity, dysmorphism, or dysmorphic feature is a major abnormality of an organism that makes a part of the body appear or function differently than how it is supposed to.
Causes
Deformity can be caused by a variety of factors:
*Arthritis an ...
the bony fragments must be re-aligned to their normal anatomical position. Orthopedic surgery attempts to recreate the normal anatomy of the fractured bone by ''reduction'' of the displacement. This sense of the term "reduction" does not imply any sort of removal or quantitative decrease but rather implies a restoration: ''re'' ("back
o initial position) + ''ducere'' ("lead"/"bring"), i.e., "bringing back to normal".
Because the process of reduction can briefly be intensely painful, it is commonly done under a short-acting
anesthetic
An anesthetic (American English) or anaesthetic (British English; see spelling differences) is a drug used to induce anesthesia — in other words, to result in a temporary loss of sensation or awareness. They may be divided into two ...
,
sedative
A sedative or tranquilliser is a substance that induces sedation by reducing irritability or excitement. They are CNS depressants and interact with brain activity causing its deceleration. Various kinds of sedatives can be distinguished, but ...
, or nerve block.
Once the fragments are reduced, the ''reduction'' is maintained by application of
casts,
traction, or held by plates, screws, or other
implants, which may in turn be external or internal. It is very important to verify the accuracy of reduction by clinical tests and X-ray, especially in the case of joint dislocations.
Types
Reduction can be by "closed" or "open" methods:
* ''Closed reduction'' is the manipulation of the bone fragments without surgical exposure of the fragments.
* ''Open reduction'' is where the fracture fragments are exposed surgically by
dissecting the tissues.
References
*
* (primary source)
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reduction (Orthopedic Surgery)
Orthopedic surgical procedures