Patient Success Stories

Arthroscopy revolutionizes shoulder surgery

We don't usually spend time thinking about how our shoulder works... that is, until there's a problem. Then, that's usually all we can think about.

Sixty-three-year-old Norbert Smith of Evergreen Park knows firsthand.

"I had injured my shoulder some time back. I had pain, but I put up with the discomfort," he recalls. "Last winter, though, I slipped on the ice and jammed it. I knew right away I did something bad."

A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan confirmed a torn rotator cuff in his left shoulder.

"The muscle was completely torn away. It was so bad that there was a possibility of open shoulder surgery," Smith explained.

Fortunately, orthopedic surgeon David Smith, M.D., F.A.C.S., was able to perform arthroscopic shoulder surgery, saving Smith valuable recovery time and excessive post-operative pain.

"I had surgery and started rehabilitation the very next day," he said.

After several months of rehabilitation, Smith has complete range of motion in his right shoulder again. Overhead reaching is no longer a problem for him, and to his surprise, he can even sleep on his right side.

"Before, I'd only get 14 or 15 holes of golf in before my shoulder would hurt," he remarks. "Now I can't wait to finish 18."

For more information on Ingalls Orthopedics, call 800-221-2199.

return to main Patient Success Stories page

return to top