ORTHOPEDIC CARE AND SURGERY

Mercy Regional Medical Center is a regional destination for comprehensive orthopedic care. Our team of medical professionals is dedicated to providing quality care that enables patients to return to their normal activities.

Skilled Surgical Teams and Medical Professionals
We believe the skill and knowledge of our medical professionals is the foundation for our orthopedic program. The 11 orthopedic surgeons who provide care at Mercy Regional Medical Center collectively have over 100 years of experience in providing orthopedic care in Durango and surrounding communities. Mercy’s orthopedic surgeons are graduates of prestigious medical schools and training centers including Dartmouth Medical School , the Steadman-Hawkins Clinic, the Mayo Clinic, and Harvard Medical School , among others. 

Some of these physicians have served as team physicians for professional teams including the Denver Broncos, the Colorado Rockies, and the U.S. Ski Team, and currently serve as team physicians for Fort Lewis College athletic teams and area high school athletic teams. Many local professional and Olympic-level cyclists, mountain bikers, skiers, and paddlers also choose to receive their care from the physicians who work at Mercy Regional Medical Center .

Publications and medical journals in which Mercy’s orthopedic and spine surgeons have published include The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Spine, the American Journal of Sports Medicine, Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery, Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, and the Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics, among others.

As a full-service hospital, Mercy has a medical staff of more than 130 physicians who can assist with other needs of certain orthopedic patients, including those who may have heart problems, require intensive care, can benefit from pain management, experience trauma, or require consultation from an internal medicine specialist.

Services
 Mercy Regional Medical Center is staffed and equipped to accommodate many types of inpatient and outpatient orthopedic procedures. A full spectrum of orthopedic care is available at Mercy from diagnostic imaging, to surgery, recovery, pain management, and physical therapy. 

A wide variety of orthopedic surgical procedures are performed at Mercy Regional Medical Center including:

Arthroscopy (all large and medium joints) – highly specialized equipment used in these minimally invasive procedures allows physicians to perform surgery through small “keyhole” incisions that are typically no larger than the diameter of a pencil.

  • Shoulder arthroscopy including rotator cuff repair, bone spur removal, and labral repair, among other commonly performed shoulder procedures
  • Arthroscopic treatment of elbow arthritis
  • Arthroscopy of the hip including trimming torn tissue and debris removal
  • Arthroscopy of the knee to repair meniscus tears and ligament tears, and to treat certain types of arthritis
  • Arthroscopy of the ankle to trim or repair cartilage and to treat joint inflammation

Arthritis treatment- a variety of surgical and non-surgical techniques are used to treat patients suffering from arthritis. 

  • Partial or full shoulder replacement, including new resurfacing implants
  • Elbow replacement
  • Partial or full hip replacement, including resurfacing, minimally invasive hip replacement, and hip revision of previous hip replacement procedures
  • Knee replacement including partial, total, and revisions of previous procedures

Joint Replacement- People with pain from arthritis may be candidates for a joint replacement. Often, a joint replacement surgery enables people to return to previous activities that were limited due to this pain. Ask your doctor if a joint replacement surgery is right for you.  Hundreds of knee and hip replacement procedures are performed at Mercy every year. Some patients may be candidates for minimally invasive joint replacement procedures.

Fracture Care- Mercy’s fracture care is supported by the hospital’s Level III trauma center, which is unique in Southwest Colorado .  Commonly treated fractures include:

  • Neck
  • Mid- and lower spine
  • Shoulder and collar bone
  • Upper arm (humerus)
  • Elbow
  • Forearm and wrist
  • Hand and fingers
  • Hip
  • Thigh bone (femur)
  • Knee
  • Shin (tibia)
  • Foot and ankle
  • Treatment of non-aligned or improperly aligned fractures

State-of-the-Art Technology
 Mercy Regional Medical Center ’s state-of-the-art surgery suites are equipped with the latest medical equipment, including highly specialized instruments used in minimally invasive joint replacements, arthroscopies, and other orthopedic procedures.

Mercy Regional Medical Center has a complete spectrum of digital imaging tools, including MRI, 64-slice CT scanner, PET/CT scanner, nuclear imaging tools, ultrasound, and digital x-ray, allows for complete evaluation of various orthopedic injuries and diseases.

With electronic medical records and digital diagnostic imaging tools, physicians at Mercy Regional Medical Center can electronically and securely share patient information with other health care professionals in our hospital, in our community, or anywhere in the world.

Taking patient care to new levels
At Mercy, we believe quality medical care goes beyond the operating room. That’s why we make an extra effort to communicate with our patients and their families and to educate them about their care.  We know that good bedside manner isn’t just talking with patients—it’s also listening to their concerns, answering their questions, anticipating their needs, and always treating them and their families with dignity, respect, and compassion.

Care for Mind, Body and Spirit
We understand that undergoing medical procedures can be stressful. That’s why we focus not only on repairing the body, but also on promoting healing of the whole person. Our popular Touch, Love, and Compassion (TLC) program, for instance, uses complementary healing techniques such as aromatherapy, therapeutic massage, mediation, and music therapy to promote relaxation, healing and patient comfort. Data shows the program helps lower patients’ pain and anxiety levels without the use of medication.

Focus on Quality Care
Clinical excellence is a primary focus of Mercy’s orthopedic surgery program. Multidisciplinary teams of medical professionals are dedicated to ensuring patient safety and to maintaining the highest standards of clinical care. Mercy’s physician-led Clinical Quality Team closely monitors key orthopedic surgery quality indicators such as surgical site infection rates, complication rates, and patient outcomes to ensure we are continuously delivering the best possible care. We pride ourselves in performing significantly better than national averages in key clinical quality indicators. What’s more, Mercy Regional Medical Center is accredited by the Joint Commission on Healthcare Accreditation (JCAHO), the nation’s predominant healthcare standards-setting organization. JCAHO accreditation is recognized worldwide as a symbol of hospital quality.

Full Service Medical Facility
 Mercy Regional Medical Center is staffed and equipped to handle many medical situations. As Durango’s only full-service hospital, Mercy Regional Medical Center has services, staff, and equipment that other area hospitals not, such as an intensive care unit; an emergency department that is staffed and equipped to handle emergencies 24 hours a day, 365 days a year; an on-site helicopter air ambulance to transport patients to or from Mercy; and state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment that is normally found only in larger, urban hospitals.

Contact Us
To speak with an orthopedic surgery representative at Mercy Regional Medical Center , please call (970) 764-3049 . We will be happy to answer your questions, check surgery and diagnostic testing schedules and availability, and help you find an orthopedic specialist if you don’t already have one.

Click here to go to Spine Care and Surgery