Foot and Ankle Unit
Clínica CEMTRO’s Foot and Ankle Unit receives over 20k visits and performs more than 900 surgeries every year.
Clínica CEMTRO’s Foot and Ankle Unit receives over 20k visits and performs more than 900 surgeries every year.
Our Foot and Ankle unit comprises some of the best trauma specialists of Spain in this field, something we truly value, considering the complexity of this joint. Foot and ankle anatomical structures are continually exposed to weight-bearing forces which leads to overload or direct impact injuries, both in young population and athletes. IN other sectors of population, and due to their continuous wear and tear, chronic wearing down also appears.
ON the one side we find the most frequent sports injuries amongst youngsters and athletes, such as ankle sprains and instabilities, fractures and Achilles tendon injuries. On the other side, we have degenerative processes, bunions (hallux valgus), Morton’s neuroma or hammer toes. We can also find cartilage lesions which may affect the ankle.
Clínica CEMTRO’s Foot and Ankle Unit receives over 20k visits and performs more than 900 surgeries every year.
Ankle arthroscopy and foot microsurgery are two of the most advanced surgical procedures surgeons can currently apply in modern traumatology, reducing the usual iatrogenic effect. Chondral lesions and osteochondritis are also treated with new techniques such as autologous chondrocyte implants…
Clínica CEMTRO is and advanced hospital which applies all of these techniques to a high number of those injuries previously mentioned. Additionally and thanks to our unique relationship with the world of sport, we have become specialists in foot injuries in athletes.
Dra. Isabel Guillén Vicente
Dr. Ramón Navarro Mont
Dra. Dolores Pérez Pérez
Dr. Erick Ugalde Ramírez
All the traumatologists
ANKLE ARTHROSCOPY
ANKLE INESTABILITY
The development of ankle arthroscopy has meant the advance of minimally invasive techniques applied to the ankle joint, with less harmful treatments, a faster return-to-play and fewer complications.
This technique is especially useful in the treatment of ankle sprain sequels and ankle impingements. It’s also useful when treating cartilage lesions such as talar osteochondritis, when extracting loose bodies in articular spaces of difficult access, assisting in arthrodesis techniques or helping in fixing ankle fractures.
We shouldn’t forget that the success of this technique depends clearly on the surgeon’s experience, in other words, the number of arthroscopies performed per year, as well as on having the appropriate surgical instruments for the technique applied.
Clínica CEMTRO’s Foot and Ankle Unit, led by Dr. Isabel Guillén comprises a team of highly skilled surgeons in ankle arthroscopy, performing over 150 procedures every year.
Ankle arthroscopy indications:
HALLUX VALGUS
CLAW TOES AND HAMMER TOES
Bunions or hallux valgus, is one of the most common and complex foot deformities, closely followed by claw and hammer toes. IN a similar way, all these deformities produce pain and discomfort when walking. There are conservative and orthopaedic treatments for these pathologies, as well as surgical procedures when the previous ones fail.
Foot deformities don’t usually come alone which means patients will need to undergo a complex and delicate surgical treatment due to bunions, claw and hammer toes. A full understanding of the foot’s biomechanics is thus necessary, and a long-term experience would very much help each patient receive the most appropriate treatment they deserve.
Clínica CEMTRO’s Foot and Ankle Unit, led by Dr. Isabel Guillén, includes professionals with broad experience in treating bunions and foot deformities surgically: we work together with a team of podologists to offer the best conservative treatments while also having the most skillful surgeons to perform the most advanced techniques in this difficult field of trauma.
TENDON BREAK
HANGLUND’S SYNDROME
The Achilles tendon is the most powerful tendon in the human body being capable of bearing weights of up to 10 times the athlete’s body weight when running or jumping. As a consequence of such work-loads, the tendon may suffer both from acute and chronic injuries, often in athletes.
Chronic injuries of the Achilles Tendon are Achilles tendinopathies which usually appear as a result of inflammation or chronic degeneration, by overuse, by friction against the calcaneus or by other underlying illnesses which could very well promote them.
But when it comes to acute injuries, it is the Achilles tendon rupture which commonly occurs while practicing sport and is quite limiting. These injuries may be conservatively or surgically treated, depending on the type of lesion, of the patient’s activity and the symptoms it produces. But when it comes to athletes, a surgeon’s approach requires special considerations with the aim of reducing the time away from sports and of avoiding possible future complications which, in a more sedentary population, would not appear.
Clínica CEMTRO’S trauma specialists have extendedly dealt with Achilles tendon pathologies due to the enormous number of athletes and young patients who visit us for advice or for treatment.
ANKLE SPRAIN
ANKLE INSTABILITY
Ankle sprains are one of the most common injuries in trauma. Additionally, 20% of all ankle sprains may become chronic, producing ankle instability with pain and repetition sprains. Additionally, ankle sprains may be associated to other complications such as impingement and osteochondral injuries of the astragalus.
Depending on the degree of seriousness of the sprain, patients’ requirements and how chronic injuries are, the appropriate treatment will be considered. And ankle arthroscope is the most popular option due to its excellent results and fewer post-op risks.
Ankle injuries represent 30% of all sports injuries and 85% of all ankle injuries. Clínica CEMTRO’s Foot and Ankle unit benefits from two main factors which make it a reference centre in the treatment of these lesions: firstly, the wide experience of its trauma specialists in the treatment of ankle sprains due to the existence of a trauma specialized ER service which receives over 30k patients per year. Secondly, the fact that it has specialized in sports trauma has enabled our doctors to improve the efficiency in their treatments by having a full recovery as well as returning top full physical practice.
ANKLE ARTHROSCOPY
ANKLE ARTHRODESIS
OA is usually the final result or joint pathology in the ankle, following a logical, long term evolution of cartilage lesions, ankle fractures or chronic instability with weight-bearing problems.
When all other conservative treatments have failed, and ankle OA has progressed, pain may seriously limit patients’ lives considerably. IN these cases, ankle arthrodesis may well help to manage this pain and improve their quality of life.
In a very few selected cases, an ankle implant could be the option since it not only manages pain but also returns certain level of mobility to the ankle.
At Clínica CEMTRO, we are specialists in performing preventive surgery for the ankle, that is, in treating injuries prematurely so as to avoid the appearance of ankle OA. However, in those cases in which OA is already-existing, ankle arthrodesis and implants are two consolidated techniques we are experts at.
TIBULA FRACTURE
ANKLE ARTHRODESIS
Sprains, sports traumas and falls are the most common causes of ankle fractures.
Fractures may affect the various bones which make up the ankle joint, fundamentally the tibia, fibula, talus and calcaneus.
Each case is different based on the patient’s characteristics and on the fracture itself. The affected bone location, bone irrigation, other possibly associated injuries and the existence of a possible displacement in the fragments determine the most appropriate type of treatment for each case.
Fractures may be treated conservatively by immobilizing and fixing or surgically by reducing and osteosynthesis. The main advantage of surgery, if needed, is an earlier start to and a wider range of mobility exercises. The surgeon’s experience plays a vital role in indicating the best treatment options.
Clínica CEMTRO provides Trauma ER services 24 hours/ day, dealing with many ankle fractures, with immediate surgery when necessary or delayed surgery if inflammation management is necessary.