Sports Medicine

During arthroscopic procedures, doctors are able to examine and treat a problem within a joint – usually the knee, shoulder, elbow, ankle, wrist, or hip. The procedure is performed using a tool called an arthroscope, a small camera, which the doctor inserts through small incisions. Either general or local anesthesia can be used, depending on the needs and severity of each case.

Once the doctor has performed the procedure, they can diagnose the issue and decide what treatment is needed. These are considered minor surgeries and patients can expect to go home on the same day. Because of anesthesia, patients will need a driver.

For recovery, patients are usually given pain medication and instructed to apply ice for 24 hours to reduce swelling. Some patients may need crutches or a sling to support their recovery. The doctor removes any stitches used to close the incisions after 1-2 weeks.

ACL reconstruction surgery replaces your knee’s most important ligament – the anterior cruciate ligament – which connects the tibia to the femur. While in surgery, the damaged ligament is extracted and replaced by a tissue graft, which is taken from another area of your knee or from a donor.

The procedure lasts about an hour, and either general or regional anesthesia may be administered. Most patients go home on the same day with a brace and guidelines to rest and keep weight off of the leg. After the procedure, it will take a period of months for the new ligament to grow in fully.

A fracture refers to a broken bone, which could be partial (the break only goes partially through the bone) or complete (the break goes completely through the bone and splits it in two). A fracture is diagnosed through imaging tests such as X-Ray, MRI, bone scan, or CT scan.

There are different ways that fractures are managed, depending on the severity of each case. Most fractures can be managed without surgery. In these cases, patients will wear either a cast (complete hard cover) or splint (partial hard cover) in order to keep the bone immobilized for an extended period of time and allow it to grow back together and heal.

In cases where the fracture is more complex, surgery may be required. Internal fixation, one type of surgery, refers to the use of internal surgical implants, like plates, pins, or wires, to help stabilize and repair the bone once it has been repositioned. Internal fixations allow for patients with more complex fractures to heal more smoothly.

External fixation is when the surgeon implements an external fixator, a stabilizing frame outside the body, and secures it to the bone through pins or screws that are connected through small incisions. External fixators are often temporary solutions for patients who aren’t yet ready for a full surgery.

While healing time for fractures widely varies, the majority of these injuries heal within a six-eight-week time frame.

A labral repair can be performed on either the shoulder or the hip. The labrum is a soft tissue that allows either the upper arm bone (shoulder) or the femoral head (hip) to move comfortably within its socket. When the labrum is damaged, either by overuse, injury, or aging, it can cause severe pain and limited movement to the affected joint.

In order to diagnose a labral tear, the doctor will start with a physical examination and will likely follow with an X-ray or MRI. Depending on the severity of the injury or tear, some cases can be treated without surgery, while others will require surgical treatment for full healing.

The following are types of surgeries that may be performed:

A multi-ligament knee injury occurs when multiple tendons in the same knee have been damaged, often occurring from high velocity or high trauma impact.

During the surgery, all the damaged ligaments are repaired by replacing the damaged tissue with graft or multiple grafts either from the patient or a donor. This is a longer, more complex surgery that requires great technical skill.

Treating this injury starts on day one to reduce swelling and regain movement and lasts anywhere from 6-12 months after the operation. Patients can expect to use crutches for around 6 weeks immediately following surgery, but the goal is to restore movement and use as quickly and safely as possible.

A reverse total shoulder replacement is the recommended treatment for a variety of shoulder injuries and shoulder pain, but especially when there is significant damage to the rotator cuff. For these cases, the reverse method has more benefits than a conventional replacement.

In a conventional shoulder replacement, a prosthetic ball replaces this anatomical part of the shoulder. This is also the case in a reverse total replacement, except for one key difference: the natural position of the ball and socket parts of the shoulder joint are reversed. This eliminates the need for the rotator cuff tendons to reestablish around the prosthetic ball, making the reverse a more appropriate surgery for injuries or pain related to the rotator cuff. This also works very well for patients who have lost a significant amount of bone on the socket side.

This surgery takes around 2-3 hours in total. Most patients will be admitted for 1-2 nights to monitor for pain or medical issues. The recovery road is relatively fast in comparison to other replacements - within a few days people can feed themselves, and within a couple of weeks they can drive. The return to full mobility relies on many factors and varies for each patient.

Tommy John surgery is a UCL reconstruction surgery – repairing a torn ulnar collateral ligament. This is a major ligament on the inner side of your elbow that helps secure your elbow joint. This injury often occurs in athletes who play throwing sports, and generally is a result of overuse versus a single trauma.

During surgery, all damaged tissue is removed and the UCL is replaced with a graft that is harvested from another body part or a donor. The new tendon is secured by drilling holes into the upper and lower arm bone, weaving the tendon through these holes, and attaching them with sutures.

Patients can start to move their elbow 1-2 weeks after surgery. Throwing athletes can expect a gradual return to play at anywhere from 6-9 months, and a full return around 1 year after surgery.