Breaks, sprains and growing pains: orthopedics expands

  • Published
  • By Air Force Staff Sgt. William Banton
  • JBER Public Affairs
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska --  A buzzing, reminiscent of a barber's shop, fills the room.

Air Force Col. Benjamin Kam, an orthopedic surgeon and the commander of the 673d Surgical Operations Squadron (MSGS), places the vibrating saw to his forearm as he explains it uses oscillation to pulsate through hard surfaces without cutting through skin.
This allows the staff of the 673d Medical Group orthopedic and podiatic clinic to remove casts from patients with broken limbs - without worrying about hurting them in the process.

This is only one example of the daily grind of the service members who labor to fix bones, joints, ligaments and muscles on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson - a task immense enough to justify their clinic's expansion.

The service provides a wide range of orthopedic and podiatric treatment for disorders of the musculoskeletal system.

These can include trauma and overuse injuries, degenerative and autoimmune joint disease, sports injuries, joint infections, hand-related problems, and podiatric care.
"The focus of this clinic is to take the injured and get them back to whatever it is they do," Kam said. "Whether it's jumping out of an airplane, flying a jet or maintaining those planes, it's a vital role we play to the community here."

This focus contributes to what Air Force Maj. Andrew Puckett, 673d MSGS podiatry element chief, considers one of the busiest assignments of his career.

"From the stand point of [patient] per surgeon, everybody is very busy; we actually do a pretty high number of cases," Puckett said.

The clinic here operates at the same volume as a major medical center, Puckett said. At JBER, the majority of treatment for patients is kept in-house because of the limited options available in Alaska.

"It's a wonderful thing that's happening to us," said Air Force Maj. Tucker Drury, 673d MSGS orthopedic surgery chief. "It's allowing us to be more flexible in accommodating our patient's needs because not all patients can come in at a certain time. That was one of the restraints we had at the last clinic.

"We had so many providers that we couldn't all be in the clinic when we need to be. Now we can all be here simultaneously and it allows us to meet each patient's individual needs a lot better," Drury said.

Officially opening last month, the new clinic provides patients with a larger room for diagnostics and building casts, additional administration office space and additional room for examinations.

This expanded space allows patients to move through the clinic with greater ease; due to the nature of their injuries, patients may have crutches, canes or other limitations to their mobility.

"With our capabilities, more than likely we are going to bring the patient here, just because we have more [abilities] as far as casting [broken bones] and they can get looked at better here," said Air Force Master Sgt. Eric MacFarlane, a 673d MSGS orthopedic technician.

These abilities also allow on-call doctors to remain mobile and take equipment with them if they need to, but usually they try to treat emergency patients in the cast room, MacFarlane said.

Highlighting the little details that help make patients feel welcome - like the extra-wide doors or the painted racing stripes on the walls - Kam emphasized the importance of the new clinic is and the mission of the orthopedics and podiatry clinic.

The work his staff does is more important than the building they work in, but having the room helps.

"In large part, we are able to help people who've sustained a significant injury, like a professional athlete, and return them to play," Kam said. "The mentality we have is 'where are we in returning you to play, to your mission, to your game?'"