Areas of expertise

If you have diabetes and related problems with your feet (ulcers, infections, Charcot foot, or gangrene), we can offer targeted ambulatory or inpatient care using:

• the latest wound treatment
• total contact plasters
• orthopaedic footwear appropriate to risk
• a wide range of surgical procedures (correction of deformities, resection arthroplasty, or amputation)

When we need to improve the patient’s circulation, especially when there are serious problems with the skin, we work closely with our colleagues in the departments of vascular medicine, vascular surgery, and dermatology.

Patients undergoing an amputation are given thorough preoperative advice and can count on our great experience with amputation surgery. Teamwork with orthopaedic technicians, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, social workers, and anaesthetists, as well as external psychiatrists, means that we can achieve the best early rehabilitation.

Treatment and procedures

Balgrist University Hospital offers comprehensive care for patients with temporary or permanent damage to the musculoskeletal system: orthopedic technicians, orthopaedic shoemakers, plaster technicians, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, and social workers form a close-knit unit to address all your needs.

All our orthopedic aids and appliances are produced under medical supervision, according to your requirements, with careful checks made to ensure they are appropriate for your needs:

• Prostheses
• Orthoses (leg braces/splints)
• Back braces and surgical corsets
• Compression stockings
• Compression bandages
• Seat shells
• Wheelchairs
• Burn and pressure garments
• Orthopedic shoes, orthotic insoles and inserts, lifts and modifications
• Functional electrostimulation appliances

Areas of expertise

The specialists in neuroorthopedics perform comprehensive diagnostics and functional analysis of the effects of neurological and muscular disorders on the musculoskeletal system and offer the full range of conservative and surgical treatment options.

Treatment and procedures

Neuro-Orthopedics deals with the effects of neurological and muscular diseases on the musculoskeletal system and offers the entire spectrum of prevention, diagnostics, functional analysis, treatment and rehabilitation. Our specialists care for patients with neurological or muscular diseases (e.g. cerebral palsy, spina bifida or muscular dystrophies) that are congenital or have existed since childhood, following their transition to adult medicine. Close collaboration with the Pediatric Neuro-Orthopedics at the University Children's Hospital Zurich ensures continuous follow-up care.

Patients with acquired neurological or muscular diseases (e.g. after a stroke, multiple sclerosis or neuropathies) are also comprehensively cared for.

Treatment options include a wide range of conservative and surgical measures. Our goal is to improve mobility, function and quality of life, as well as to prevent premature wear and tear due to increased stress caused by the disease. The treatment goal is worked out individually together with the patient.

With regard to conservative treatment measures, we work closely with the specialists in orthopaedic technology, orthopaedic shoe technology and rehabilitation technology, as well as with the physiotherapists and occupational therapists at Balgrist University Hospital.

In the case of surgical therapy, a functional analysis by means of instrumented gait analysis is usually part of the planning. Comprehensive interdisciplinary care is provided before, during and after the hospital stay. Continuous care is also provided during the rehabilitation phase after surgery, both in the inpatient and outpatient areas.