Frequently Asked Questions

Kansas City Orthopaedic Institute is Kansas City’s first and only hospital dedicated exclusively to orthopedics, and our patients benefit from our uniquely comprehensive approach to orthopedic medicine and surgical care. Whether you need a diagnostic MRI, inpatient or outpatient surgery, physical or occupational therapy, or pain management services, our orthopedic experts will provide highly specialized and personalized care. Our nonsurgical and surgical services include:

• Diagnostic imaging and testing, such as digital X-rays, MRI,  electromyograms (EMGs) and nerve conduction studies
• Inpatient and outpatient surgery for all orthopedic specialties
• On-site rehabilitation services, including physical therapy and occupational therapy
• Interventional spine and pain management services provided by board-certified physiatrists
• Sports medicine and treatment for broken bones and other musculoskeletal problems

We believe in serving the entire community, so we participate in most commercial insurance plans, as well as Medicare, Kansas Medicaid and Tricare. As a service to our patients, we verify insurance coverage prior to evaluation and/or treatment (if time allows).

Yes. Kansas City Orthopaedic Institute is an acute care hospital licensed in the State of Kansas specializing in orthopedics. Our hospital meets the same regulatory requirements as every other hospital in Kansas and provides a comprehensive range of orthopedic services, including inpatient surgery, at one convenient location in Leawood. For patients who need overnight or multi-day stays following surgery, our hospital features spacious inpatient suites and recovery rooms.

Yes. Our hospital provides a variety of advanced diagnostic imaging and testing services to ensure you get the right diagnosis and the right treatment. Our board-certified radiologists who specialize in orthopedics can perform same-day readings for MRI exams and provide reports back to the ordering physician.

A physician’s order is required for MRI services, either from your own physician or from our specialists. Our hours of operation are:

• Monday-Friday, 6:45 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
• Saturday, 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

For more information about diagnostic imaging at Kansas City Orthopaedic Institute, please call 913-319-7633.

Our staff includes highly skilled and specially certified rehabilitation therapists who, together as a team, offer a full range of one-on-one rehabilitation therapy services, including:

• Physical therapy and manual therapy
• Occupational therapy
• Hand therapy (provided by certified hand therapists)
• Kinesio Taping® (rehabilitative taping)
• Work conditioning
• Functional capacity evaluations
• Astym® treatment for soft tissue therapy
• Sports medicine and corrective exercise techniques

Our rehabilitation center is open Monday-Friday, 6:45 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. For more information, please call 913-319-7633.

Rehabilitation services, such as physical therapy and occupational therapy, provide effective treatment for many orthopedic conditions and play an important part in injury prevention and recovery after orthopedic surgery. Occupational therapists apply their specific knowledge to enable people to engage in activities of daily living that have personal meaning and value through  therapeutic use of everyday activities (occupations). Physical therapists help restore movement through therapeutic exercise, manual therapy and functional training.

We offer outpatient rehabilitation services Monday-Friday, 6:45 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. For more information, please call 913-319-7633.

Direct access refers to the ability of a patient to have access to physical therapy and/or physical therapist services without needing a physician referral. Direct access to a physical therapist saves times among other benefits for a patient as a self-referral.

Learn more abut our inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation services at KCOI. For more information, please call 913-319-7633.

Hand therapy is the art and science of rehabilitation of the upper limbs, including the hands, wrists, elbows and shoulder girdles. It is a merging of physical and occupational therapy theory and practice that combines comprehensive knowledge of the structure of the upper limb with function and activity.

All our occupational therapists are certified hand therapists (CHTs), meaning they have completed additional training in the field of hand therapy and passed an advanced, comprehensive test in upper extremity rehabilitation.

Additionally, many of our physical therapists and occupational therapists have advanced training and certifications in these related areas:

• Manual therapy
• Astym® treatment for soft tissue therapy
• Kinesio Taping®
• Sportsmetrics™ (a type of ACL injury prevention program)
• Work conditioning
• Sports medicine

Many of the board-certified and fellowship-trained physicians at Kansas City Orthopaedic Institute specialize in sports medicine, the branch of medicine that involves treatment and prevention of injuries resulting from athletic activity. Our physicians work collaboratively with physical therapists to provide customized, comprehensive medical care for these and other conditions caused by strenuous physical activity:

• Shoulder and elbow injuries, including fractures, sprains, torn ligaments and separations (dislocated joints)
• Hand and wrist injuries, including fractures and sprains
• Knee problems, including fractures, sprains and ligament problems
• Foot and ankle injuries, including fractures and sprains
• Neck and back problems
• Hip pain

For patients who need it, our board-certified and fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeons perform joint replacement surgery, or arthroscopy, to restore damaged bones and cartilage. If hip pain interferes with your ability to perform routine activities like getting dressed, showering, walking, and even getting in and out of bed, then your quality of life is being affected. Likewise, if hip pain prohibits you from conducting your business functions as needed, or if you need medication to sleep at night because your pain is so severe, consider talking to an orthopedic surgeon to see if hip replacement is right for you. Our surgeons typically recommend total hip replacement only after nonsurgical methods have been exhausted.

For patients who need it, our board-certified and fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeons perform arthroscopy, or joint replacement surgery, to restore damaged bones and cartilage. If you have difficulty carrying out everyday activities because bending, squatting, kneeling and walking cause too much knee pain, then you may have arthritis of some kind. Osteoarthritis is the most common diagnosis that leads to knee replacement, though traumatic injuries and other knee problems can result in knee replacements surgery as well.

Depending on the extent of your knee pain, your physician may suggest nonsurgical treatments – such as medication, injections, braces, and physical therapy – before recommending surgery. If nonsurgical methods don’t help you recover some knee function, your physician will determine if a knee replacement is right for you.

For patients who need it, our board-certified and fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeons perform joint replacement surgery, or arthroscopy, to restore damaged bones and cartilage. Although shoulder replacement surgery is less common than knee replacement or hip replacement, it can be just as effective in relieving joint pain. In fact, shoulder replacement is used to treat many painful shoulder injuries and other conditions, including rotator cuff tears, rheumatoid arthritis, avascular necrosis and shoulder fractures. If nonsurgical treatment methods have not relieved your shoulder pain, shoulder replacement may be an option for you.

Our board-certified interventional physiatrists provide physical medicine and rehabilitation services, which include a range of nonsurgical treatment options for patients with chronic or severe upper or lower back pain, neck pain or hip pain that has not responded to other conservative treatment methods like physical therapy. Based on your diagnosis, nonsurgical treatment options may include:

• Anti-inflammatories
• Pain medication
• Fluoroscopic-guided injections
• Ultrasound-guided injections
• Epidural injections
• Nerve-blocking injections
• Radiofrequency ablation
• Vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty
• Spinal cord stimulation

Physiatry is a type of interventional spine and pain management (often referred to as physical medicine and rehabilitation) that aims to enhance and restore a patient’s functional ability and quality of life through non-invasive treatment methods, such as anti-inflammatories or pain medication, epidural or steroid injections, radiofrequency ablation, spinal cord stimulation and compression fracture treatment (vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty). A physician who has completed training in this field of study is referred to as a physiatrist – they are nerve, muscle and bone specialists who treat conditions that affect how you move.

Yes. If you have been injured at work and it’s affecting your ability to earn a living, we have experts who can help. With our team of more than 25 board-certified and fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeons and subspecialists, our hospital offers advanced expertise in diagnosing and treating a wide range of orthopedic conditions, including workers compensation cases:

• Elbow injuries and shoulder injuries
• Hand injuries and wrist injuries, such as carpal tunnel syndrome
• Leg pain and knee problems
• Neck pain and back pain
• Hip pain
• Foot problems and ankle injuries
• Orthopedic trauma and post-trauma conditions, including broken bones and fractured or dislocated joints

Please suggest Kansas City Orthopaedic Institute to your case manager when you are assigned your workers compensation claim. If you choose our hospital for orthopedic care, you will receive a work status report at the end of each examination that includes information about your condition and treatment progress. We can also fax the report to your case manager and insurance provider within 24 to 48 hours of your visit.