About Orthopaedic

Orthopaedics is the medical specialty that focuses on injuries and diseases of your body's musculoskeletal system. This complex system includes your bones, joints, ligaments, tendons, muscles, and nerves and allows you to move, work, and be active.
Once devoted to the care of children with spine and limb deformities, orthopaedists now care for patients of all ages, from newborns with clubfeet to young athletes requiring arthroscopic surgery to older people with arthritis. And anybody can break a bone.

Orthopaedic surgeons manage special problems of the musculoskeletal system. This involves:

• Diagnosis of your injury or disorder
• Treatment with medication, exercise, surgery or other treatment plans
• Rehabilitation by recommending exercises or physical therapy to restore movement, strength and function
• Prevention with information and treatment plans to prevent injury or slow the progression of diseases

While orthopaedic surgeons are familiar with all aspects of the musculoskeletal system, many orthopaedists specialize in certain areas, such as the foot and ankle, spine, hip or knee. They may also choose to focus on specific fields like pediatrics, trauma or sports medicine. Some orthopaedic surgeons may specialize in several areas.

Please visit our new Orthopaedic & Sports Medicine Center in Costa Mesa at:

1640 Newport Blvd., Suite 230
Costa Mesa, CA 92627
949-515-5210

www.sportsmedicine.uci.edu

Dr. Nitin Bhatia and Dr. Thay Lee were presented with the prestigious "Harold and Nancy Willingham Award for Outstanding Research Paper" at the meeting of the Western Orthopaedic Association this year. Drs. Bhatia and Lee presented their paper, entitled "Biomechanical Evaluation of Short-Segment Posterior Instrumentation with Crosslinks In An Unstable Human Burst Fracture Model".

The WOA, with more than 1,700 members, held it's 73rd annual meeting in Seattle, Washington.

Dr. Bhatia, an orthopaedic surgeon and Dr. Lee, a Ph.D Research Career Scientist/Biomedical Engineer, are on staff at University of California at Irvine.