The General Orthopedics Unit of the Rizzoli-Sicily Department includes a ward composed of 34 beds, divided in two sections with 17 beds each. Rooms have 2 beds, except for two individual rooms, and each one is provided with a bathroom. In addition to regular hospitalizations, with at least one night spent at the hospital, the Unit provides day-surgery hospitalization, for small surgical interventions, or clinical day-hospital for diagnostic investigations, after which the patient is discharged within the same day, without staying at the hospital overnight. Two orthopedic specialist wards are available on mornings from Monday to Friday.

Clinical activity

Clinical activity focuses on the traditional fields of clinical interest and research of the Rizzoli Orthopaedic Institute in Bologna. In particular, the Unit of General Orthopedics treats the following clinical issues:

• Pathologies of the hip represent one of the most developed areas of treatment of the department. The Unit performs hip prosthesis interventions through several surgical points of access, with special attention to mini-invasive surgical techniques, performed both anteriorly and postero-laterally, aiming to reduce surgical traumas on tissues and to accelerate rehabilitation. We privilege the utilization or innovative materials such as porous titanium and ceramic, in addition to less voluminous prostheses, capable of reducing the quantity of bone which needs to be forgone in order to implant the prosthesis itself. Special attention is dedicated to the prosthetic treatment in case of outcomes of severe hip pathologies, such as congenital dysplasia, epiphysiolysis and Perthes. We perform surgical interventions for corrective osteotomy in case of severe deformities of the proximal femur in young patients, and conservative surgical interventions in case of hip pathologies which, if untreated, may cause alterations in the articular mechanic eventually leading to precocious secondary arthrosis. A fundamental role is played by revision surgery on mobilized or infected prosthetic implants, with the utilization of the most modern and innovative techniques, in addition to bone implants and bone substitutes to correct severe bone defects deriving from the mechanic failure of the prosthetic implant under revision.
• Knee pathologies: among the surgical activities of the Department, great attention is also dedicated to prosthetic knee surgery. In addition to traditional, prosthetic interventions for arthrosis, we also employ innovative, navigation-guided prosthetic techniques, and we implant prostheses in case of arthrosis with severe varus or valgus knee deformities. We also particularly focus on revision activities on mobilized of infected implants. In case of younger patients with knee deformities, we perform corrective osteotomies. Finally, we fully manage the pathologies related to lesions of menisci or cruciate ligaments, of tendons or articular cartilage. We further treat osteochondral lesions with regenerative medicine techniques applied to the cartilage tissue, with the utilization of stem cells.
• Shoulder pathologies: the Unit treats pathologies such as the lesions of the rotator cuff, impingement syndromes of the subacromial space, calcific tendinopathies and chronic instabilities such as habitual shoulder dislocation (in this latter case, with both arthroscopic and open technique). We also perform shoulder prosthesis interventions in case of severe arthrosis degeneration.
• Pathologies of the ankle and foot. The Unit treats finger deformities such as the valgus hallux, mallet fingers and hammer fingers; deformities of the hind foot such as flat foot and claw-foot; outcomes of congenital deformities, like the clubfoot. In particular, we perform outpatient treatments for the progressive correction, with plaster, of severe foot deformities in newborns. 
• Adult pathologies of the vertebral column such as lumbago caused by adult degenerative pathologies, disc herniation and/or vertebral stenosis. Lumbago is treated by a multidisciplinary team (orthopedist, physiatrist, pain therapist and interventional radiologist) and specific therapeutic paths are thus identified, encompassing rehabilitative care, pharmacological care, and finally, surgical interventions. We perform corrective surgical interventions against scoliosis.
• Paediatric orthopaedic pathologies: flat foot, treatment of congenital clubfoot using Ponseti method, lower limb deformities (valgus-varism of the knees, dysmetria, congenital pseudoarthrosis), paediatric hip pathologies (congenital hip dysplasia, Perthes), spinal deformities and pathologies (scoliosis, hypercosis).
• Trauma outcomes: sometimes difficult fractures do not heal due to their severity, and degenerate into pseudo-arthrosis or delayed consolidation; or they can heal with an axis deviation or shortening, thus needing further corrective interventions to improve the functional result;   
• Tumor pathologies of the bones or muscles. When a tumor is suspected, all check-up radiologic tests are performed (nuclear magnetic resonance, CT scan, bone scintigraphy), while bioptic samples allow the Department of Anatomy and Pathological Histology of the Rizzoli Institute in Bologna to reach a histological diagnosis and to define the best treatment. Having identifies the type of tumor, we proceed with the necessary surgical intervention, applying, if necessary, megaprostheses or massive bone grafts, in order to reconstruct the bone segment which was removed due to the tumor. 

Research Activity

Clinical research focuses on the study of clinical results from new hip and knee prosthesis implants; on the evaluation of the best diagnostic systems for the identification of periprosthesis infections; on the study of innovative surface materials reducing the risk of infection after primary hip prosthesis interventions; on the evaluation of clinical results related to the use of mini-invasive surgical techniques.