Through surgical and nonsurgical means, orthopedic surgeons can mend musculoskeletal trauma, sports injuries, degenerative diseases, infections, tumors and congenital disorders. However, all too often, multicultural communities are resistant to the help that orthopedic surgery can provide, as many are distrustful of medical professionals and/or fearful of diagnosis.

The integration of engineering in medicine has been one of the most dynamic things to happen in science, and the orthopedic field has been able to apply fundamental principles of physics and material engineering to the body. The latest multimodal perioperative pain management modalities are state of the art; cutting-edge technology and instrumentation with robotic technology have been used to install total hip and knee replacement surgery. Over the last two decades, the advancements in medicine and technology have demonstrated 100 percent accuracy, and the knee and hip implants last up to 25 or 30 years.

"We really restore their function and relieve their pain in a large majority of the cases, as opposed to some of the other specialties that have people die on them quite a bit," Dr. Carlos J. Lavernia, the first Latino Medical Director of The Center For Advanced Orthopedics at Larkin University, told Latin Post. "For example, if you're a morbidly obese diabetic and you're at the doctor for that patient, in general you can make them better, but you almost never cure them. But, if you come to me with two bad knees and you can't walk, I can give you two new knees, and you'll be dancing by Christmas."

Dr. Lavernia began his work in bioengineering, also researching multicultural populations' relationship with the medical community. Born in Havana and raised in Puerto Rico, he was raised by an engineer and a biology professor, provoking his interest biology and the designing of new materials and strategies for hip and knee replacement. He then ventured into surgical work, developing new materials and implants to fix metal, ceramic and carbon to bone. The new knee and hip system he would develop was implanted in more than 2 million patients, including many patients in the Latino community.

Dr. Lavernia has proven, with solid research, that the Latino community gets orthopedic surgery later than non-Hispanic whites, and African-Americans receive surgeries even later than Latino patients due to a general distrust in the community. According to the doctor, Latinos and African-Americans have been beaten up quite a bit by the medical establishment, prompting fear.

"Our communities, which are poor communities compared to white communities, have not been serviced by the best doctors at times. We'll have big complications and because our communities are tight-knit, everyone hears about it. You have Ms. Jones who has a bad knee and walked around with a big limp," said Dr. Lavernia. "She goes for a knee replacement, and she comes back with no leg because she's got an amputation. Well that only happens in 1-in-every-50,000 cases, and maybe even less than that.

"They lose their leg, and they tell everyone in the neighborhood, and nobody wants to get a knee replacement. Then you have these people just suffering and not getting an operation that would change their lives. I think one of the biggest needs in the Latino community is the need for more orthopedic surgeons that look like them."

According to Dr. Lavernia, patients are more likely to communicate with their caretakers with confidence when treated by someone who looks like them. Also, the same thing can be said for women in the orthopedic field. However, women and multicultural groups are underrepresented in orthopedic surgery. A publication reported some years back that there are 14.1 white applicants for every Latino applying for orthopedic surgery residencies, and six whites for every Latino applying for general surgery residencies, leading to Latinos making up just 3.8 present of orthopedic surgery residents, lower than any other field. Dr. Lavernia has led orthopedic training programs designed to draw more Latinos to the field, hoping to correct this imbalance.

In addition to Dr. Lavernia's work at The Center for Advanced Orthopedics, which has produced tissue-sparing alternatives to traditional hip replacement that provides the potential for less pain, his new position at the Florida Orthopedic Society allows him to advocate for better orthopedic care in the state of Florida, throughout diverse communities.

"We will work with lawmakers and the health department to improve the way care is delivered, and to make things better for patients in Florida," Dr. Lavernia said. "Also, we'll make the life of orthopedic surgeons easier, working on the regulations and processes that we have to go through to take care of people and make it easier so that patient care will be better."

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