Old problems, new techniques. This is the ‘mantra’ of doctors specialising in treatment of shoulder-related injuries to resuscitate careers, especially in the world of sports.
“We are striving to get rid of shoulder-related problems with the latest knotless technology in shoulder stabilisation surgery, double row repair technique with swivelock anchors and reverse shoulder arthroplasty,” explains Hannes Jonker, a specialist from South Africa.
“We try to ensure that the careers of champion athletes don’t get shortened because of the shoulder injuries,” says Dr. Jonker whose patients included Chelsea striker Fernando Torres, Andres Iniesta Lujan of Barcelona, cricketers Alviro Peterson, Jacques Rudolph, Zaheer Khan to name a few.
Extra pressure
Surgeons are under extra pressure during these operations because they will be handling the multi-million dollar earning sports stars and the first objective is to ensure that they regain the same levels of fitness and excellence, he says. “It is a great responsibility and the bigger satisfaction is when we see them (sports stars) back on the field without showing any signs of discomfort, says Dr. Jonker, who was recently in the city, to participate in a workshop organised by Sai Institute of Sports Injury and Arthroscopy (SISA), a shoulder and knee specialty centre. SISA’s Dr. K. Raghuveer Reddy said the latest surgical techniques were being used extensively for the last 18 months.
