[Osteoarthicular injuries in orthopedic surgeons. How do we deal with it?]

Therapeutic decision-making is a complex process in which multiple variables must be considered. There is a growing trend towards surgical indication, although scientific evidence is not always blunt. Understanding how surgeons make decisions can improve our understanding of treatment variability.

To expose the demographic situation of osteoarticular injuries in orthopedic surgeons in Uruguay and how they deal with their own injury and identify those variables that influence therapeutic decision-making in the orthopedist.

Using the Uruguayan Society of Orthopedics and Traumatology database, residents and surgeons who had at least one osteoarticular injury were identified. Each of the selected ones was interviewed by telephone, obtaining the variables of interest.

In a total of 274 residents and Orthopedic surgeons, we include 56 professionals and 69 osteoarticular injuries. We highlight the existence of multiple injuries of controversial treatment, according to current scientific evidence. The surgeon did not always indicate the same treatment to himself, in respect of the one that would indicate a patient with the same injury. Fear of complications, rapid job reimbursement, opinion of an expert colleague, among others were some of the variables found in the therapeutic decision.

When the lesion settles on the surgeon itself, a different action was observed with respect to a patient with equal injury.