Clavicle (collar bone) fractures

September 10, 2018 | Focus News, Focus Surgery

Collar bone fractures are also known as clavicle fractures. A fracture means a break and is an interchangeable term. The function of the collarbone is to act as a connection between the chest wall and the shoulder. When someone is said to have “broad shoulders”, it actually means they have a longer collar bone which … Continued

Frozen Shoulder: Do You Really Have It?

January 22, 2018 | Focus Surgery

Frozen shoulder – or adhesive capsulitis, as it’s known technically – is a condition I see among a small percentage of my patients. In technical terms, adhesive capsulitis means there is an inflammation (capsulitis), resulting in tissue thickening and adherence to other tissues (adhesive). While it’s a generalisation, it is a condition found most often … Continued

What’s an AC Joint Injury and How is it Treated?

December 5, 2017 | Focus Surgery

An AC injury is a common one among both professional athletes and weekend sporting warriors. Not to be confused with a shoulder dislocation, an AC injury is also known as a shoulder separation. Occurring in the acromioclavicular (AC) joint – hence the AC acronym – an AC injury is usually caused by blunt force to … Continued

How to Manage a Shoulder Dislocation

October 22, 2017 | Focus Surgery

It’s a rare Monday during football season when I don’t see a least one player injured with a shoulder dislocation. While shoulder dislocation occurs in elite athletes, it’s frequently an issue for many aspiring ones too. Often teens in their final years of school, university students, or weekend enthusiasts, these younger players put their bodies … Continued

Rotator Cuff Injury Repair

September 17, 2017 | Focus Surgery

What you need to know about recovery from a rotator cuff injury As a focused shoulder specialist, I’m asked a lot of questions about recovery from a rotator cuff injury. Before answering that question, I find it’s necessary to step back a little and paint a picture. The reason? To build understanding and awareness about … Continued

Clearing up the confusion around the bursa

August 26, 2017 | Focus Surgery

The bursa is an element of shoulder care and treatment that gets considerable airplay. It is also prone to a lot of confusion. Clearing up the confusion is my intention with this blog. What is a bursa and what’s bursitis? A bursa is a tiny sac filled with fluid. Functioning as a gliding surface in … Continued

Shoulder Replacement Surgery: How Planning Well Makes All the Difference

August 1, 2017 | Focus Surgery

It used to be that shoulder replacement was the kind of surgery best avoided, and if it must be performed, it was a treatment pathway to be embarked upon with realistic, even low, expectations for the outcome. Frequently compromised by premature failure arising from poor surgical planning and prolonged duration of surgery increasing medical and … Continued

When Is Shoulder Replacement Surgery a Good Option?

July 30, 2017 | Focus Surgery

Before deciding if shoulder replacement surgery, or arthroplasty, is your best treatment option on the roadmap to recovery, it’s helpful to understand what conditions it’s good for treating. Shoulder replacement would be considered when a person has long term and degenerative arthritis of the shoulder. Otherwise known as osteoarthritis, this progressive degeneration of shoulder joints … Continued

The #1 Reason a Focused Shoulder Specialist Is Better for You

March 26, 2015 | Focus Surgery

I’ve been a surgeon now for well over a decade. It’s not a job; I love what I do. The great news for me and my patients is I’m enjoying it more and more as my chosen specialty area – shoulders – becomes even more refined as my technical skills strengthen and my understanding of … Continued

Why a Recovery Roadmap Makes All the Difference to Patients With a Shoulder Condition

February 17, 2015 | Focus Surgery

After many years of clinical practice and working with patients through their recovery, it became really clear to me that patients want relief from three things when faced with a challenging shoulder issue. They want to know: How their condition will impact their life long term What certainty can be provided around treatment options What … Continued