Since we depend on healthy feet and ankles for walking and mobility, quick recovery from an injury is extremely important. The skill of the surgeon, the type of surgery required, and the willingness of the patient to stick to the physical therapy regimen all can impact how well someone bounces back from an ankle injury.

Minimally invasive surgeries to repair foot and ankle injuries generally provide the fastest recovery time and the highest chance of returning to previous level of function.

At Specialty Surgical Center in Sparta, New Jersey, there are several minimally invasive surgeries that are regularly performed for foot and ankle conditions, including Achilles tendinitis, arthritis of the foot or ankle, bunions, plantar fasciitis, or turf toe.

The surgical staff also provides joint replacements, fusions, arthroscopic surgery, and bunion surgery.

There are many benefits to having your surgery in an outpatient surgery center like Specialty Surgical Center. Outpatient surgery centers usually report the same or lower risk for post-surgical infection, and many patients are pleased with the level of care and attention they get at an outpatient center. Because patients are allowed to return home the same day, they are able to heal and recover at home, and often experience shorter recovery times.

For more information about foot and ankle surgery at Specialty Surgical Center, call us at 973-940-3166

Specialty Surgical Center is located in Sparta, New Jersey and our staff consists of board certified surgeons and anesthesiologists performing procedures in Orthopedics, Sports Medicine, Spinal Care, Podiatry, Urology, Pain Management, ENT, Hand Surgery, Lithotripsy, Brachytherapy, GYN and Laser Surgery.

For more information about Specialty Surgical Center, call 973-940-3166 or visit our Contact Page.

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Corticosteroid injections are one of the interventional pain management tools that the doctors at Specialty Surgical Center use to reduce lower back pain.

What is it?
The adrenal gland, which is located on top of the kidneys, produces hormones like cortisol. Cortisol controls how our body handles both physical and mental stress, but it also helps fight inflammation to our bodies. When your adrenal gland is under stress, one symptom that may arise is lower back pain. So when the adrenal gland does not produce enough cortisol when it is under stress, corticosteroid injections are used to mimic cortisol and treat lower back pain.

How the procedure is done
After the patient is given an anesthetic, a patient is given an injection into or around a patient’s back joints. It is just like having an injection in your arm that you may be more used to. This may provide the patient with a fast way of reducing inflammation for months or potentially years. Our doctors recommend using ice on the injection spot if a patient is sore over the next two days after the procedure. It will be up to your doctor at Specialty Surgical Center to discuss how often you need to have a corticosteroid injection.

Who should consider one?
If you have any of these conditions, talk to your doctor to see if he or she recommends using corticosteroid injections as a form of treatment. Here are just a few examples of the types of patients who might consider the procedure.

• Osteoarthritis patients – If osteoporosis is affecting the joints in your lower back and hip, it can be difficult to move around pain free. A corticosteroid injection can make an osteoarthritis patient feel less stiff by reducing inflammation.

• Tendinitis – Like osteoarthritis, people can have tendinitis anywhere in their bodies. A person who has tendinitis in their lower back may be a great candidate for corticosteroid injections because of the tight muscles caused by tendinitis. Instead of injecting the corticosteroid into the joints, it is injected directly into a patient’s tendons.

• People with muscle injuries – From athletes to people who move heavy objects, anyone can injure their lower back with a muscle injury. While a corticosteroid injection is not recommended for someone with a new injury, it can be considered for someone with a muscle injury who is in chronic pain and has suffered from the injury for a long time.

Specialty Surgical Center is located in Sparta, New Jersey and our staff consists of board certified surgeons and anesthesiologists performing procedures in Orthopedics, Sports Medicine, Spinal Care, Podiatry, Urology, Pain Management, ENT, Hand Surgery, Lithotripsy, Brachytherapy, GYN and Laser Surgery.

For more information about Specialty Surgical Center, call 973-940-3166 or visit our Contact Page.

A spinal adjustment, also referred to as a chiropractic adjustment, is a fairly common technique that the chiropractors at Specialty Surgical Centers use to help manage chronic back pain symptoms. When one of our specialists performs a spinal manipulation, he or she uses their hands to create a sudden force onto your joints.

During this procedure, a chiropractor will move you into different positions to apply that force into different areas of your back and neck. It is normal to hear a “pop” sound when they do this. The sound is the release of gasses putting pressure on your joints. Ultimately, a spinal adjustment relieves pressure and nerve irritation by improving spinal alignment.

Our specialists encourage an open line of communication regarding where your pain is, so if you feel any tenderness during your adjustment, tell your chiropractor exactly where the pain. That way, they’ll be able to can cater your spinal adjustment to your needs and reduce any tenderness you may have.

Spinal adjustments work best when the patient is completely relaxed during the procedure, so your chiropractor may use some relaxation techniques before your adjustment.

Having a spinal adjustment may relieve lower back pain, neck pain and even headaches. Our specialists will discuss introducing a spinal adjustment into your pain management treatment plan if they feel it’ll help you live pain-free.

A patient may feel a little soreness in the muscles around the spine following a spinal adjustment, but that should dissipate after a day or two. Pain relief from a spinal adjustment differs for everyone; nevertheless, a Specialty Surgical Center chiropractor may recommend another appointment or a different manipulative therapy offered at Specialty Surgical Centers to help treat your chronic back pain.

Specialty Surgical Center is located in Sparta, New Jersey and our staff consists of board certified surgeons and anesthesiologists performing procedures in Orthopedics, Sports Medicine, Spinal Care, Podiatry, Urology, Pain Management, ENT, Hand Surgery, Lithotripsy, Brachytherapy, GYN and Laser Surgery.

For more information about Specialty Surgical Center, call 973-940-3166 or visit our Contact Page.

When preparing for your surgery, your pre-operative nurse at Specialty Surgical Center may instruct you not to eat anything anywhere from 4-8 hours before your surgery. If your surgery does not target the digestive tract, you may be wondering why this is necessary.

Ultimately, eating or drinking before surgery puts you at risk for certain complications while under anesthesia.

There are muscles that prevent food from going into your lungs. You may have felt that “food going down the wrong tube” sensation before, especially if you’ve inhaled while swallowing. The muscles in your stomach and gag reflex are normally relaxed during surgery, so if you vomit your stomach contents while under anesthesia, food could get caught in your lungs. This is called pulmonary aspiration.

Pulmonary aspiration, or just aspiration, is when your stomach contents (food, saliva, acids) get into your lower airways. This is a serious condition that may lead to pneumonia or even death.

If you accidentally forget this pre-surgery guideline and have food during the restricted time frame, call Specialty Surgical Center right away. They may need to reschedule your surgery for a future date.

Depending on the type of surgery you are having, you may not be able to have beverages other than water, as you are fasting. Water may be permitted up until 2 hours before your procedure.

A common question that our specialists get asked is if it is ok to take medications while fasting. Prescribed medications for conditions such as seizures, asthma, or diabetes can still be taken with small amounts of water if your doctor allows.

However, you may be advised not to take over-the-counter aspirins or ibuprofens the week before surgery.  These medications affect the way your blood clots, and if you take them before surgery, you could experience excessive bleeding during your surgery.

Ask your doctor if you are unsure if your medication is safe to have before surgery, and if not, how long you can take it up until your surgery.

Specialty Surgical Center is located in Sparta, New Jersey and our staff consists of board certified surgeons and anesthesiologists performing procedures in Orthopedics, Sports Medicine, Spinal Care, Podiatry, Urology, Pain Management, ENT, Hand Surgery, Lithotripsy, Brachytherapy, GYN and Laser Surgery.

For more information about Specialty Surgical Center, call 973-940-3166 or visit our Contact Page.

Rhinoplasty is typically associated with getting a “nose job” by a plastic surgeon despite its many health benefits. The surgery is often used to resize and reshape the nose, but the surgeons at Specialty Surgical Center may use rhinoplasty to treat diseases of the ear, nose and throat, a specialty called otolaryngology. Due to the cosmetic nature of the surgery, you may want to ask your insurance provider if they offer coverage if rhinoplasty is needed for medical reasons instead of cosmetic purposes.

A surgeon may use this nose surgery in conjunction with septoplasty to treat a deviated septum, where the cartilage and bone separating your nostrils gets crooked and makes it hard to breathe. Patients who have nasal polyps may need rhinoplasty too. Nasal polyps, which are typically due to repeated inflammation from allergies or infections, could be painless. However, if they become larger, you could have a difficult time breathing. Surgery is usually only used after medication treatments fail. Children with birth defects like cleft palates may need rhinoplasty to help them eat.

Aside from nasal abnormalities and diseases, rhinoplasty is commonly used to treat injuries from sports like fractures if the nose needs to be reconstructed.

There are a number of conditions that require rhinoplasty, but they can also be performed at the same time as other surgeries. For example, a patient having sinus problems could also request rhinoplasty to reshape their nose at the same time.

Before the procedure, the patient is given general or local anesthesia. How the surgeon enters the nose depends on the surgeon. Some may go through the nostril and some may make an incision at the base of the nose.

Surgeries performed at Specialty Surgical Center are outpatient surgeries, so when you have rhinoplasty, it will be on the same day and you will be able to leave a few hours after the procedure. Recovery time depends on the procedure, but you may need to wear a splint to keep everything in place as you recover. Be gentle with your face when smiling, brushing your teeth or putting makeup on.

Specialty Surgical Center is located in Sparta, New Jersey and our staff consists of board certified surgeons and anesthesiologists performing procedures in Orthopedics, Sports Medicine, Spinal Care, Podiatry, Urology, Pain Management, ENT, Hand Surgery, Lithotripsy, Brachytherapy, GYN and Laser Surgery.

For more information about Specialty Surgical Center, call 973-940-3166 or visit our Contact Page.

The decision to circumcise a baby boy is typically made sometime before, or shortly after the child is born. A grown man may shudder at the thought of getting circumcised as an adult, but those feelings could change based on his social experiences or religious background. Nevertheless, the surgeons at Specialty Surgical Center explain what this procedure entails and why some men may decide to undergo it later in life.

A circumcision is a minimally invasive procedure that removes the foreskin surrounding the penis. A man may decide to undergo this procedure for several reasons. Some men find it easier to clean this area without foreskin getting in the way, making the practice more hygienic. Some cultures perform circumcisions for religious reasons, whereas other may not require or condone the removal of the foreskin. A man who has converted to another religion, no longer practices, or has assimilated into American culture may wish to have a circumcision.

Finally, certain infections and diseases may require a man to have a circumcision as a form of treatment. According to the CDC, the amount of circumcised babies in the United States has decreased since its peak in the 80’s, but more than half of all men living in the U.S. are circumcised today.

The procedure:

Before the scheduled circumcision, patients may be asked not to consume foods or beverages a few hours before. Patients should arrive at Specialty Surgical Center with the area cleaned. After the surgeon has provided the patient with information on how the procedure will be performed, the patient will be sanitized and given a general anesthetic; meaning, the patient will be asleep for the surgery. Some surgeons may perform the surgery with a local anesthesia, so the patient is awake during the procedure, but does not feel any pain.

During the procedure, the surgeon will retract the foreskin and trim it off with a special device or scalpel. Small sutures will be applied to close the incision. The procedure should not take longer than an hour.

The surgeon may use a bandage to cover the stitches. The patient should be careful when bathing and drying off so there is no damage to the stitches. Pain medication may be prescribed and should be taken following the surgeon’s specific instructions. Ice packs may also be recommended to minimize pain and discomfort. Intercourse should be avoided for at least four weeks after the procedure. Talk to your doctor about undergoing an adult circumcision.

Specialty Surgical Center is located in Sparta, New Jersey and our staff consists of board certified surgeons and anesthesiologists performing procedures in Orthopedics, Sports Medicine, Spinal Care, Podiatry, Urology, Pain Management, ENT, Hand Surgery, Lithotripsy, Brachytherapy, GYN and Laser Surgery.

For more information about Specialty Surgical Center, call 973-940-3166 or visit our Contact Page.

After a surgeon at Specialty Surgical Center performs a minimally invasive spine surgery procedure, they may recommend using physical therapy as a form of rehabilitation, especially if you want a faster recovery time. Physical therapy sessions typically start a few weeks after your surgery, but it all depends on how quickly your body has healed.

Surgeons may recommend physical therapy for a number of reasons. For starters, during all of the time you spent being inactive due to the injury and all of the time you needed to heal after surgery, your back muscles were probably very inactive. Physical therapy would help to strengthen the back muscles again. Another reason is because your flexibility goes away if you don’t move your back for a while. If you could not move before due to the pain of the injury, you may not be able to move after surgery because your back muscles lost their flexibility. Finally, your surgeon could recommend physical therapy because it promotes healing. In order for your injury to heal properly after your procedure, you may need to exercise so that you get a good blood flow to that area.

Your physical therapy session

The first time you come, your physical therapist may ask about the minimally invasive spine surgery at Southwest Spine and Pain as well as test you for flexibility, posture and other things they need to know. After the evaluation, he or she will come up with a plan to reduce your pain after surgery as much as possible.

At first, you may start out slow with some stretching and low intensity exercises. The exercises are meant to strengthen your back and other core muscles. Your physical therapist can teach you the proper way to do the exercises so you can do them at home too. The more you work on it, the faster your healing process could go.

Ultimately, the goal is to have you pain-free, so along with exercises, your physical therapist may do some massages. Additionally, heat therapy or electrical simulation could be performed if pain persists.Talk to your our team if they think physical therapy would help you after your back surgery.

Specialty Surgical Center is located in Sparta, New Jersey and our staff consists of board certified surgeons and anesthesiologists performing procedures in Orthopedics, Sports Medicine, Spinal Care, Podiatry, Urology, Pain Management, ENT, Hand Surgery, Lithotripsy, Brachytherapy, GYN and Laser Surgery.

For more information about Specialty Surgical Center, call 973-940-3166 or visit our Contact Page.

Having outpatient surgery means that you will be in and out of Specialty Surgical Center the same day as your surgery. It has fewer risks than more serious procedures such as open-heart surgery, but there are still complications that could happen, and our surgeons understand that it’s scary to our patients! Whether it is surgery for carpel tunnel syndrome, orthopedic surgery, or anything in between, everyone gets nervous to go under the knife.

The first step is to recognize why you are nervous. Is it because you’re afraid something will go wrong or how you’ll feel after anesthesia? Are you worried about feeling pain after or the length of the recovery process? All of these questions can help you target where your fear is so you can tackle your nerves before your procedure.

If the idea of surgery is overwhelming, it may help you to plan ahead. You could schedule all of your appointments ahead of time so you know exactly what day you need to be at physical therapy or your follow up appointment. If you’ll need a friend to drive you home or someone to just visit you at home, start calling your friends so they don’t have to come at the last minute. Plus, scheduling time to see loved ones always helps with nerves.

The next plan would be to get as much information as you can. Read about your procedure and see what risks are involved. Your surgeon knows your medical history and information about your lifestyle (like if you’re a smoker), so he or she will be able to see if the risk applies to you or not. A Specialty Surgical Center nurse will call you prior to your surgery and will be able to answer all of your questions at that time as well. Our team is very attentive to patient’s needs and concerns, so never feel bad for asking a lot of questions!

Now, all of your appointments are scheduled out and you are an Internet expert on your procedure, but you’re still nervous. What can you do? Studies have shown that listening to music before surgery can help tame hospital anxiety. Additionally, you can try to take your mind off of it. Keep busy with a craft or with something that needs a lot of attention. This can occupy your mind so you focus less on surgery.

Overall, the best thing you can do is to trust that your body will heal in the best way that it needs to. Understand that the Specialty Surgical Center surgeons are experts in their fields and routinely do the procedure you need. Trust is a very important part of the surgeon to patient relationship you need to feel secure and conquer your anxiety.

Specialty Surgical Center is located in Sparta, New Jersey and our staff consists of board certified surgeons and anesthesiologists performing procedures in Orthopedics, Sports Medicine, Spinal Care, Podiatry, Urology, Pain Management, ENT, Hand Surgery, Lithotripsy, Brachytherapy, GYN and Laser Surgery.

For more information about Specialty Surgical Center, call 973-940-3166 or visit our Contact Page.

When patients feel a lump, the diagnosis may be a tumor, but not necessarily mean cancer. A benign tumor is usually left alone unless it keeps growing or causes pain, but a malignant tumor is cancerous and damages the surrounding prostate tissue. A physician will usually determine the severity of the tumor before deciding on a treatment option before the tumor becomes metastatic and spreads to the rest of the body. An oncologist is a physician who studies and treats tumors, and one such way to treat them is with radiation oncology, a specialty and Specialty Surgical Center.

Radiation therapy helps prostate cancer patients by using specific doses of radiation in an attempt to eliminate cancer cells that form tumors. Cancer cells do not stop growing and dividing like normal cells. This causes a buildup of a lump of cells (a tumor). Radiation therapy works by using an X-ray machine to get into the cancer cells and disrupt their DNA so they die off and stop multiplying.

Many of our prostate cancer patients prefer radiation therapy because it targets only the areas around the prostate, whereas chemotherapy treatments affect the entire body. Radiation therapy is an outpatient procedure, but it is up to the oncologist to determine how long you need to come back and repeat the treatment for.

Patients may not feel any pain during the procedure, but may be left with side effects that may last a few weeks. Appearance wise, the patient may lose pubic hair and have red and irritated skin around the genitalia. The bladder may become inflamed causing frequent urination that may be accompanied with a burning feeling.

There are a few less-common side effects that may happen even years after radiation therapy treatment. They could include anything from problems getting and keeping an erection to increased bowel movements. The radiation therapy may shrink tubes in the penis making it difficult to urinate as well. All side effects will be reviewed with the patient and our staff will work with the patient to make sure they know that the patient and physician are working as a team. Together they will do their best to eliminate the prostate cancer for good.

Specialty Surgical Center is located in Sparta, New Jersey and our staff consists of board certified surgeons and anesthesiologists performing procedures in Orthopedics, Sports Medicine, Spinal Care, Podiatry, Urology, Pain Management, ENT, Hand Surgery, Lithotripsy, Brachytherapy, GYN and Laser Surgery.

For more information about Specialty Surgical Center, call 973-940-3166 or visit our Contact Page.

Even though the chances of developing an infection after your procedure at Specialty Surgical Center are very low, surgery naturally makes the body more susceptible to developing an infection. First, the body is under stress, and the stress is only amplified when the patient is nervous about the procedure and loses sleep. This makes the immune system do a worse job at protecting the body from infection. But most dangerous of all, the warm, moist incision wound can be a breeding ground for bacteria that now has direct access into the body. Still, to reiterate, according to the Centers for Disease Control, patients only have a 1-3% chance of developing a surgical site infection.

There are still steps that should be taken to avoid a surgical site infection. Most importantly, patients should follow the post-op instructions on the Specialty Surgical Center website. Vital tips to follow include:

• Wash your hands every time you need to touch the surgical area
• Do not soak in a bathtub
• Follow the regular bathing instructions as directed by the surgeon
• Call the nearest hospital if an emergency occurs to avoid infection

The Specialty Surgical team will follow precautions like giving you antibiotics and possibly shaving the surgical area with electric clippers before the surgery to avoid surgical site infections, but in order to do your part, you must also follow your surgeon’s instructions about handling your wound or changing the bandages.

During the healing process, patients should look for signs of infection. Sudden redness, fever, and the presence of white pus or drainage are all indicators of infection. Call your primary care physician or Specialty Surgical Center if you have these symptoms, because antibiotics may need to be prescribed.

Finally, a good way to avoid a surgery site infection is to keep bacteria away from the wound. This means that you should not shave with a razor around the incision site. Razors irritate the skin and increase the risk of infection. Sponges are also bacteria breeding grounds so if you are instructed to take a sponge bath, make sure that your sponge is clean.

The risk of infection after surgery is very low! As long as our patients follow post-operative care instructions from their surgeon, the recovery stage should be smooth sailing. If you are at all concerned about infection after your surgery or forgot what the surgeon told you, please do not hesitate to call our reception desk.

Specialty Surgical Center is located in Sparta, New Jersey and our staff consists of board certified surgeons and anesthesiologists performing procedures in Orthopedics, Sports Medicine, Spinal Care, Podiatry, Urology, Pain Management, ENT, Hand Surgery, Lithotripsy, Brachytherapy, GYN and Laser Surgery.

For more information about Specialty Surgical Center, call 973-940-3166 or visit our Contact Page.