A new era in orthopedic trauma care

Improvements in technology and surgical technique have allowed fracture reduction and fixation to be achieved with less invasive surgical approaches, which has reduced postoperative morbidity, decreased hospitalization, and expedited the recovery of function. A new understanding of processes at the cellular and molecular levels offers the first-time possibility of directly influencing the biology of fracture union and soft-tissue healing. Transitional research has introduced new therapies that are moving rapidly from the laboratory to biotechnical industry and the clinical arena. Given the present state of scientific acceleration, orthopedic trauma care in the next millennium will be shaped by important decisions that physicians now only can imagine.