Shoulder Procedures
While many shoulder conditions can be treated without surgery, sometimes an interventional procedure is needed to resolve the problem or to repair the injury. Dr. Franky Davis is a Board-Certified orthopedic surgeon with subspecialty training in shoulder surgery and experience of over 250 shoulder and elbow surgeries per year.
Repair of the rotator cuff is Dr. Franky Davis’s #1 most frequently performed surgical procedure. While many tears may not require surgery, Dr. Franky Davis uses advanced arthroscopic and minimally-invasive techniques when surgery is required. Arthroscopic repair of the rotator cuff involves placing several small “portal” incisions (usually about ¼ inch each) in the shoulder and using a small video camera to guide the surgery. With the use of special equipment, the rotator cuff is repaired with sutures and usually “suture anchors,” which are like small corkscrews that screw into the bone and provide a stable attachment for the stitches. Sometimes even more advanced techniques are needed, such as artificial patches and tendon slides.
For more information about rotator cuff tears, please visit these links:
Rotator Cuff Tears – Surgical Treatment Options
Rotator Cuff Repair – (National Library of Medicine)
Rotator Cuff Repair – (WebMD)
Arthroscopic Rotator Cuff Repair with video (AAOS Orthoinfo)
Regeneten Bioinductive Implant (Smith and Nephew)
Fractures of the ankle are common injuries sustained in sports, recreation, and accidental falls. Most people cannot walk on a broken ankle. Ankle fractures often involve a break of both bones of the ankle – the smaller fibula on the outer side of the ankle, as well as the larger tibia on the inner side of the joint. A broken fibula usually requires treatment with a plate and screws. A broken tip of the tibia usually requires treatment with screws. Sometimes a cast will suffice for treatment of an ankle fracture. Dr. Franky Davis has treated ankle fractures in all kinds of situations – from simple missteps to major injuries from skydiving and rodeo accidents.
For more information about Ankle Fractures, please visit:
Hip fractures are extremely common in the elderly population, and they usually occur as a result of a fall. A hip fracture can be devastating to a person’s lifestyle, as these fractures have very high rates of complications if not treated with surgery. Hip fracture prevention is thus critically important for older patients.
Several common patterns of hip fracture exist, and the geometry of the fracture determines the type of treatment. Fractures involving the femoral neck (the “ball” of the thigh bone) often require either a partial or total hip replacement. A partial hip replacement, or hemiarthroplasty, is the most common method of treating a femoral neck fracture. If the bones are not significantly separated or displaced, a femoral neck fracture may be treated with screws, or percutaneous pinning. Fractures may also involve the intertrochanteric region, or the upper part of the thigh bone below the ball area. Fractures in this part of the bone are often treated with intramedullary nailing, or placement of a rod and screw into the bone.
For more information about Hip Fractures, please visit:
Falls onto an outstretched hand can result in a fracture of the wrist. Usually, the distal radius, or the end of the large forearm bone, is the most common site of the fracture. These injuries occur in all age groups, but tend to be more common in children and in older patients. In children, a cast will usually suffice as the mainstay of treatment – although a closed reduction, or “setting” of the break, may be necessary. In older patients, casts are also common – but surgical treatment may be recommended depending on the pattern and severity of the fracture. Dr. Franky Davis has extensive experience with the treatment of wrist fractures, and has published several articles about this topic in the international literature.
For more information about Wrist Fractures, please visit:
Fractures around the knee can involve the thigh bone (femur), the kneecap (patella), or the shin bone (tibia) – or a combination of these bones. Knee fractures sometimes do not require anything more than a brace or a cast and a few weeks on crutches. Many times, however, fractures of the knee bones can be very serious injuries that require major surgery to repair. Dr. Franky Davis has extensive experience with the treatment of knee fractures.
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Fractures of the shoulder are an increasingly common problem, especially in older patients with osteopenia or osteoporosis – conditions which result in weakened bones. Sometimes these fractures will heal on their own without any intervention, but sometimes the fracture is bad enough to warrant fixation or replacement. Dr. Franky Davis has extensive experience in shoulder fracture management, and he has presented numerous lectures about shoulder fractures at the national level.
For additional information about shoulder fractures, please visit:
Shoulder Fractures and Dislocations
Common Shoulder Injuries
Shoulder Blade Fractures