A new era in orthopedic trauma care

The previous 20 years have truly opened a new era of orthopedic trauma care. Rapid advances in the development of systems for internal and external fixation have been made. Improvements in technology and surgical technique have allowed fracture reduction and fixation to be achieved with less-invasive surgical approaches. This 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 possibility, for the first time, 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 biotech industry and the clinical arena. Given the present state of scientific acceleration, orthopedic trauma care in the new millennium will be shaped by important developments that physicians can now only imagine.