Patient Stories

Vanderbilt University lacrosse player Nellie Blaze vividly remembers the day she was hurt.

“It was my dad’s birthday and my whole family was at Vanderbilt for my game. I got the ball at the top of the goal and I was so excited because I knew my family was watching,” she said. “Unfortunately, I didn’t see another player who came up from behind and pushed me to the ground. I fell on my left shoulder and I ended up turning the ball over.”

Standing up, Nellie knew something was wrong with her shoulder, but the reality of the injury was masked by the adrenaline coursing through her.

“People were telling me I didn’t look good, but I was still trying to pick up the stick and pass. Any movement hurt it and I went to the sidelines to have the trainer look at it,” she said. “I was asked to raise my left arm. As soon as my arm was parallel to the ground, I passed out.”

Nellie eventually had her shoulder braced and was able to finish her season, but not without pain. After going home to Maryland for the summer and working with sports therapists at Vanderbilt University and in Baltimore, Nellie made the decision to undergo surgery.

“I tore my left labrum and broke off a piece of cartilage,” she said. “Everyone advised me that I could work to rehab it, but it was most likely going to need surgery. I was in a lot of pain.”

Her surgeon, Anand Murthi, MD (Baltimore, Maryland), performed a labral repair using Arthrex Knotless FiberTak® anchors and repaired an osteochondral defect using the BioCartilage® system to improve the quality of the repair tissue.

“The reason we perform instability surgery on an athlete is because they will have a higher recurrence of reinjury, and we want to do the best we can to avoid that. The FiberTak anchors are small and provide really good fixation,” Dr. Murthi said.

Following the surgery, Nellie spent the next two months in a splint so that her shoulder could heal completely without putting strain on it.

“I have never not been active, so it was a struggle. I was going a little stir- crazy before the end,” she said. “But once I was out of the sling, my recovery was on fast-forward.”

Nellie said her shoulder began to feel like normal and she’d hoped to play the fall season of lacrosse.

“It was great. I was passing all of my strength tests. I was ahead of where I should be in my recovery every week. But school wanted me to wait until the spring season started in January to make sure I was fully healed,” she said. “But I was ready.”

Nellie said once she was back on the field, she felt 100 percent.

“I finished the season without any pain,” she said. “Walking to class the spring before, my shoulder hurt so badly. But now, after having it fixed, I feel great.”

Nellie said while she was concerned about not being able to play again, the injury had her more worried about her future mobility.

“My lacrosse career was only going to be a year and a half at most, so my real concern was being able to get my full range of motion,” she said. “I wanted to play golf with my dad, I wanted to be able to do the things I wanted to do long after lacrosse. By having this procedure, I have all of that back.”

This patient was skeletally mature at the time of surgery. FiberTak® anchors may not be suitable for patients with insufficient or immature bone. The physician should carefully assess bone quality before performing orthopedic surgery on patients who are skeletally immature. This is not medical advice and is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by a surgeon or other qualified medical professional on the use of these products. You should talk with your physician or health care provider for more information about your health condition and whether Arthrex products might be appropriate for you. The surgeon who performs any surgical procedure is responsible for determining and using the appropriate techniques for surgical procedures on each individual patient. Arthrex recommends that surgeons be trained on the use of any particular product before using it in surgery. A surgeon must always rely on their own professional medical judgment when deciding whether to use a particular product when treating a particular patient. A surgeon must always refer to the package insert, product label, and/or directions for use before using any Arthrex product. Postoperative management is patient-specific and dependent on the treating professional’s assessment. Individual results will vary and not all patients will experience the same postoperative activity level or outcomes. Products may not be available in all markets because product availability is subject to the regulatory approvals and medical practices in individual markets. Please contact Arthrex if you have questions about the availability of products in your area.