While many of us have come to associate “orthotics” with corrective shoe inserts, the term actually refers to any external device used to adjust the function of the neuromuscular or skeletal system. These devices can be rigid or soft and include splints, braces, and wraps.
Pediatric orthotics is the use of these devices to immobilize, protect, or correct the position of a child’s bone.
Don Butterfield was playing soccer a few years ago when he stuck his leg out to defend a shot.
“The ball hit my toe awkwardly and twisted my knee,” he explains.
He knew right away he was in trouble when he experienced severe pain and couldn’t bend his knee. He made an appointment with Dr. Christopher Dolan at Great Basin Orthopaedics (GBO), who confirmed that it was a torn meniscus as a result of a traumatic sports injury, and that it would require surgery.
In her role as Practice Administrator, Kim Gulling is responsible for overseeing every aspect of Great Basin Orthopaedics (GBO) — the doctors, physical therapy, administration, billing and operations.
Gulling joined GBO in 2015, after serving in a similar role for another medical practice in Reno. She says she likes the camaraderie of the GBO staff and the fact that everyone on the team is invested in doing right by the patients.
Pamela Locricchio-Wiens met Dr. Timothy Dooley the hard way. While trying to remove the pit from an avocado, the knife went through her hand. When she got to the Northern Nevada Medical Center emergency room and found out she would need surgery, she had a special request.
“I had good luck with Dr. Dolan who worked on my knees, so I asked if I could get someone from GBO to work on my hand,” she says. “They said I got lucky because Dr. Dooley was on call. I cut my hand in the morning, and he repaired my hand and nerves that afternoon.”
As a retired race car driver and mechanic, Ricky Ruiz has had his fair share of injuries. In his 74 years on the planet, he has had ankle and wrist surgery, a broken collarbone and a broken neck. So when he fell jumping over a ditch at a racetrack in 1998 and hyper-extended his knee, he didn’t think much of it.
“I got it to a place where I could stand on it, my son helped me to the stands, and then it seemed to heal itself after a few weeks,” he says.
Tibia fractures happen, but not as often as meniscal tears. It turns out, there are certain orthopaedic injuries that are simply more common in men than other injuries. The likely reason: a combination of their hobbies, their jobs, their mindset and the allure of Nevada’s great outdoors.
We’ve all done it. You have an ache or a pain that just doesn’t seem to go away, so you consult the obvious choice: Dr. Google. After falling down the internet rabbit hole, you emerge with more questions than answers (as well as a whole host of diagnoses that are likely many times worse than reality).
Jammal Tarkington was both very lucky and very unlucky one summer night six years ago.
On August 14, 2014, Tarkington was cruising around Midtown Reno on one of his vintage Vespas when he was hit by a truck. The driver, under the influence of alcohol and drugs, walked away from the scene after running over the 41-year old man and breaking most of the bones on the right side of his body. This was exceedingly unlucky, to say the least.
In our continuing series, we’re following a real GBO patient, Gio, from diagnosis all the way through treatment at Great Basin Orthopaedics. Be sure to check back for updates as we follow the journey, which is documented by his mother, Paige.
If you'd like to catch up: