The Avanfi Institute received in 2014, for the first time ever, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) award for the application of ultra-minimally invasive ultrasound-guided surgery for the approach to a sports injury. Traumatology specialists explain that this method is revolutionizing orthopedic surgery, sports medicine and podiatry, as it allows procedures to be performed more safely and efficiently, with direct control of the structures.
Advantages of ultrasound in Traumatology and Sports Medicine
- Thanks to ultrasound, minimally invasive treatments can be performed in Traumatology, Sports Medicine, Podiatry and Physiotherapy. Multiple scientific studies support its high efficacy and the reduction of risks in many of the treatments in which it is used. From classic treatments, such as corticosteroid infiltrations, hyaluronic acid or prolotherapy, to the new biological therapies; administration under ultrasound control is more effective than any other therapeutic administration route and reduces costs, since it can be performed in the office (not in the operating room with X-rays) and with maximum precision.
- Another advantage of the application of ultrasound in traumatology and sports medicine is that it allows, with the minimum margin of error, to quickly and exhaustively identify the damaged area and administer the treatment exclusively in the area to be treated, avoiding side effects and increasing the chances of success. Ultrasound-guided interventionism has meant a leap in quality for patients and safety for the physicians who use it.
- One of the determining factors in the use of ultrasound in sports medicine is that it makes it possible to see without opening, favoring not only ultrasound-guided interventionism, but also ultra-minimally invasive ultrasound-guided surgery, “the new era of surgery”.
- With this revolutionary way of operating, most interventions are performed under local or truncal anesthesia, with incisions of 1-2 mm. The surgeon ‘sees’ with the ultrasound, so there is no need to open to see or generate iatrogenesis. In this way, ischemia and deeper anesthesia are avoided, and pain and bleeding are reduced, speeding up the patient’s recovery.
International Recognition of Ultrasound in Sports Medicine
For the first time in its history, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) has awarded an ultraminimally invasive ultrasound-guided surgical technique, and has included it in its continuing education catalog for physicians and surgeons around the world.
In 2015 and 2016 the AAOS has again recognized several of our ultraminimally invasive ultrasound-guided surgery techniques, in upper and lower limb, and has included them among its training techniques, granting us its scientific endorsement, that of the institution with the greatest prestige and influence in the field of orthopedic surgery and traumatology.
Both these techniques and the trajectory of Dr. Villanueva and the Avanfi Institute are endorsed by publications, communications and conferences, national and international, and by exclusive merits, such as having four AAOS awards and 8 surgical techniques recognized by this institution.