It’s a tale of two rotator cuffs: one worn down by a lifetime of activity, the other torn during a split-second fall. Yet the outcomes for Bruce and Anna Marie Kesterson were remarkably similar, thanks to the expertise of MedStar Orthopaedic Institute Surgeon Daniel M. Hampton, MD.
Mr. Kesterson, an avid golfer, led the way in 2014. After years of babying an old rotator cuff tear with cortisone injections and rehabilitation, his pain had gone from nagging to acute. The retired military man sought out the best shoulder specialist near his Woodbridge, Va., home, and found exactly what he needed in Dr. Hampton, chief of Orthopaedics and chairman of the Surgical Department at MedStar Southern Maryland Hospital Center.
That January, Mr. Kesterson had a rotator cuff repair with Dr. Hampton, followed by more physical therapy.
“It was one of the best moves I ever made,” Mr. Kesterson says today. “After surgery and physical therapy, I was back on the links. Five months after surgery, I played in a golf tournament and received 'The Hawk' trophy for the longest drive.”
A few years later, Mrs. Kesterson—who helped her husband recover from his ordeal—was about to face her own up-close-and-personal experience with Dr. Hampton. In February 2019, she had a freak fall, landing awkwardly and twisting her arm behind her. Instead of breaking her impact, she ended up ripping her rotator cuff in three places. Despite excruciating pain, she wouldn’t let her husband take her to the Emergency Department.
“I thought—hoped—that maybe it was only a bad sprain,” says Mrs. Kesterson. “I wanted to tough it out and see if it would get better in a few days.” It didn’t.
After suffering for weeks, she finally followed her husband’s footsteps to see Dr. Hampton. Because of the extent of her injury, Mrs. Kesterson needed surgery as soon as possible. “Unlike Bruce, whose problem had come about slowly over years of wear and tear, Anna Marie needed a more aggressive approach,” says Dr. Hampton. “It’s the difference between a chronic and an acute injury to the rotator cuff. With the first, we can afford to take our time and try out all other available options first, before moving to surgery. But with trauma, we often need to be more aggressive and perform surgery sooner rather than later.”
That’s the standard, conservative approach throughout MedStar Orthopaedic Institute, where treatment is tailor-made to each individual patient’s needs, and surgery is viewed as a last resort. Fortunately, the program’s specialists have multiple advanced treatments at their fingertips, including medication, rehabilitation, and minimally invasive, out-patient arthroscopic surgery.
In fact, Dr. Hampton and his associates perform the vast majority of their rotator cuff repairs as outpatient surgeries at MedStar hospitals and surgery centers across the region. All sites also provide follow-up services and physical therapy. The goal is to keep patients away from heavy duty anesthesia, prolonged bed rest in either the hospital or home, and get them up and moving as quickly as possible.
Several months after her surgery, Mrs. Kesterson continues physical therapy and home exercises to improve the range of motion in her damaged shoulder. While her progress hasn’t been quite as fast as her husband’s, she remains a stalwart fan of Dr. Hampton. “We both had textbook surgeries and outcomes, despite different reasons for our injuries,” says Mrs. Kesterson. “Dr. Hampton is a star!”
“It’s the difference between a chronic and an acute injury to the rotator cuff. With the first, we can afford to take our time and try out all other available options first, before moving to surgery. But with trauma, we often need to be more aggressive and perform surgery sooner rather than later.”
—DANIEL M. HAMPTON, MD