For 40 years, I have dedicated my professional life as an orthopaedic surgeon to the shoulder joint.
Out of 24,000 shoulders seen in consultation, 8,000 were treated surgically, mainly through arthroscopic microsurgery. The others were “healed” or “stabilised” through rehabilitation.
My approach to the patient, as an orthopaedic surgeon specialising in the shoulder, is based on 2 fundamental principles:
– Establish a diagnosis
– Explain to the patient
It takes 5 years to know how to operate on a shoulder.
It takes 10 years to know how to operate on a shoulder “well”.
It takes 20 years to know when “not” to operate on a shoulder…
– Dr D.F Gazielly
In medicine, diagnosis is an essential intellectual process.
This is particularly true for the shoulder, a complex joint whose injuries can affect the bone, cartilage, tendons or ligaments.
With an accurate diagnosis, we must be able to provide an effective solution to the patient who comes to see us.
For 40 years, my diagnosis has been based on 3 successive steps: listening, clinical examination of the patient, and specific imaging.
Establish a diagnosis of the injury involved as precisely as possible, by listening to the patient and through a planned clinical examination, supplemented by specific imaging.
Explain to the patient the different therapeutic options, which may not be exclusively surgical depending on their age, medical history and functional needs.