DAVID WEISS: My name is Dr. David Weiss. I'm an orthopedic trauma surgeon at the University of Virginia Health System. And I'm the director of the orthopedic trauma division. In orthopedic trauma, sort of all we do is challenging fractures. 

We really work on getting people's fractures fixed properly and getting them back to their life. The types of treatments or procedures that I'm known for personally have to do more with reconstruction in the lower exterminate, the knee, the tibial plateau, which is the bone just below the knee joint and also, the end part of the tibia bone and the shin bone just above the ankle. We do a lot of work with reconstruction in that area. 

Probably the most common question or concern I get from my patients is really-- they're going to ask, am I going to go off of the metal detector of the airport? Most of the patients don't actually have enough metal to set off metal detectors. But I think it's a question that sort of illustrates a concern about their-- you know, their recovery, like what is my recovery going to be like? What do I have to worry about on a day-to-day basis? 

I tell patients that I don't necessarily expect them to be 100% of where they were beforehand. But I do expect them to be very functional, meaning that they can do most, if not all, of the activities that they want to do, reassure them or give them guidance that their life may be different, but it won't necessarily be bad. And it can often be very good. I want them to know that I'm really on their side, that my job is to really get them through their recovery process. And I want them to get back to their lives in as full a way as possible.