Labrum surgery: prognosis not very good

[kente777]

I didn't realize how difficult it was to come back from labrum surgery (the type of surgery Wood had done), but here is an excerpt I just found:

 

The San Francisco Giants' Robb Nen, one of the best relief pitchers in baseball, had off-season surgery in 2002 to "clean up loose particles" in his shoulder. What Nen didn't know is that he had a torn labrum, the fearsome modern baseball injury that strikes down pitchers quickly, stealthily, and painfully. Eighteen months and three surgeries later, Nen is still waiting to throw his next major-league pitch. The leading minds in baseball medicine are flummoxed by the labrum. Doctors can't agree on how to detect a tear, don't know the best way to fix one, and aren't sure why, almost without fail, a torn labrum will destroy a pitcher's career.

 

Leading baseball surgeon Dr. James Andrews estimates that 85 percent of pitchers make a full recovery after an ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, aka the once risky Tommy John surgery. (USA Today has even called the surgery the "pitcher's best friend.") But if pitchers with torn labrums were horses, they'd be destroyed. Of the 36 major-league hurlers diagnosed with labrum tears in the last five years, only midlevel reliever Rocky Biddle has returned to his previous level. Think about that when your favorite pitcher comes down with labrum trouble: He has a 3 percent chance of becoming Rocky Biddle. More likely, he'll turn into Mike Harkey, Robert Person, or Jim Parque, pitchers who lost stamina and velocity—and a major-league career—when their labrums began to fray.

 

After reading this, I definitely have my doubts whether Wood will ever be a dominating pitcher again.

 

Ken

[Vinestal]

*sigh*

 

Kerry Wood did not have a torn labrum....

Edited February 28, 2006 by Vinestal

[kente777]

*sigh*

 

Kerry Wood did not have a torn labrum....

 

good grief

 

Per Will Carroll:

 

Kerry Wood continues to impress with his throwing and looks to be on track or even ahead of optimistic projections. Given the normally gloomy returns from labrum surgery, Dr. Kremchek’s repair on Wood is going to be closely watched to see if things progress differently.

 

Did he or did he not have labrum surgery?

 

Ken

[Ding Dong Johnson]

A fray and a tear are not that dissimilar.

 

Major advancements have been made in the past 3-5 years in terms of repairing a labrum, and now the prognosis is actually very good for athletes. Don't put a lot of stock in the reports of players like Rob Nenn, who often had unnecessary procedures done to mask pain instead of fix problems. Little was known about labrum repairs as early as 10-15 years ago. It's your next TJS.

[wade]

*sigh*

 

Kerry Wood did not have a torn labrum....

 

good grief

 

Per Will Carroll:

 

Kerry Wood continues to impress with his throwing and looks to be on track or even ahead of optimistic projections. Given the normally gloomy returns from labrum surgery, Dr. Kremchek’s repair on Wood is going to be closely watched to see if things progress differently.

 

Did he or did he not have labrum surgery?

 

Ken

 

He had the surgery, but it was supposed to clean up fraying of the labrum. It was supposedly not torn, and the torn labrum is the thing that's hard to come back from because it helps provied stability for the shoulder.

 

I'll state for the record that I'm not a professional, but this is what I think is going on from reading the reports.

[CubinNY]

*sigh*

 

Kerry Wood did not have a torn labrum....

 

good grief

 

Per Will Carroll:

 

Kerry Wood continues to impress with his throwing and looks to be on track or even ahead of optimistic projections. Given the normally gloomy returns from labrum surgery, Dr. Kremchek’s repair on Wood is going to be closely watched to see if things progress differently.

 

Did he or did he not have labrum surgery?

 

Ken

 

I don't think so. But he had some problem with his shoulder. the Labrum is on the back if I am not mistaken

 

Even with his injury last year, Woody was still gassing it up in relief. I think he hit 99 once or twice.

 

With a tron labrum, the pitcher looses velocity. If Woody had a torn one I would hate to see the velocity he was capeable of before the tear.

[kente777]

A fray and a tear are not that dissimilar.

 

Major advancements have been made in the past 3-5 years in terms of repairing a labrum, and now the prognosis is actually very good for athletes. Don't put a lot of stock in the reports of players like Rob Nenn, who often had unnecessary procedures done to mask pain instead of fix problems. Little was known about labrum repairs as early as 10-15 years ago. It's your next TJS.

 

So then Wood did have labrum surgery?

 

Ken

[kente777]

*sigh*

 

Kerry Wood did not have a torn labrum....

 

good grief

 

But he did have labrum sugery. Stop being so arrogant!

 

Ken

[Ding Dong Johnson]

So then Wood did have labrum surgery?

 

Ken

 

Yes, and I'll include my comment from the Will Carroll thread as well:

 

I'm not entirely clear on Matty Mo's procedure, so I can't say whether or not they are comparable. I do know that the surgeon who performed my labrum repair is one of the best in the nation, and he was also a big baseball fan so we talked about it in good detail one day. In his description of events, and obviously he didn't have access to Wood's MRI results, but mine was much more serious as it was a complete tear. Wood's problem was that edge of the labrum over time may get frayed so that the edge is not smooth. It is an extremely similar procedure in that it is basically just stitched back up. Like I said, the hard part is that I was told not to lift anything at all for 2 months, nothing heavier than a gallon of milk from months 2-4, and while I could exercise, I could not lift anything heavier than 25 pounds from months 4-6. My shoulder is as weak as it has ever been, and I am slowly starting to get back to where I was. I had mine repaired on 9/12, and I am at about 95% health-wise. I am going to be starting to hit the weights quite a bit more over the next month or so, as right now I can't throw anything at all. The pain is gone for the most part, but the weakness is obvious. I don't remember the date Kerry had his done, but he should be 100% healed and in that strength-building process. I don't envision him being out until mid-May, but depending on how his conditioning goes, it may be mid-April until he's game ready.

 

I still keep in touch with the surgeon who performed the procedure on me (and thousands of athletes at the U of I and throughout the midwest). He's one of the best in the nation, so if any of you have any unanswered questions on the procedures themselves, I will be glad to find out for you.

[goonys evil twin]

A fray and a tear are not that dissimilar.

 

Major advancements have been made in the past 3-5 years in terms of repairing a labrum, and now the prognosis is actually very good for athletes. Don't put a lot of stock in the reports of players like Rob Nenn, who often had unnecessary procedures done to mask pain instead of fix problems. Little was known about labrum repairs as early as 10-15 years ago. It's your next TJS.

 

So then Wood did have labrum surgery?

 

Ken

 

Labrum surgery, yes, but not from a torn labrum. At least that's what I am getting out of this.

[wade]

I believe the author you reference in the first post is Will Carrol. He did a chat here- His chat

 

There are a couple of questions about labrums. Angel Guzman had the same type of surgery that Wood did, if I'm not mistaken.

[goonys evil twin]

*sigh*

 

Kerry Wood did not have a torn labrum....

 

good grief

 

But he did have labrum sugery. Stop being so arrogant!

 

Ken

 

How is that arrogant? You insinuated Wood had a torn labrum and was therefore in the same group of people who had a 3% chance of being ... who was it again? Anyway, there is a difference here, and as far as I can tell, it's an important difference. So, when people write about the procedure Kerry had, they should take the responsibility of reporting it accurately.

[burnt out cubbie fan]

*sigh*

 

Kerry Wood did not have a torn labrum....

 

good grief

 

But he did have labrum sugery. Stop being so arrogant!

 

Ken

Not a good idea to call someone arrogant when you are wrong...

[Vinestal]

Here are some facts and links from various sources:

 

The hour-long operation included reinforcement of the labrum, as well as a debridement of the rotator cuff and bursa. The procedure was performed by Dr. Timothy Kremchek at Beacon Orthopedics in Sharonville, Ohio.

 

"I spoke with Dr. Kremchek and this was what he was hoping to find when he got in there," Cubs trainer Mark O'Neal said before Wednesday's game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. "This is exactly what he was looking for. We're very pleased with that."

 

link -

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/articles/2005/08/31/kerry_wood_undergoes_shoulder_surgery?mode=PF

 

this is the AP report basicly

[kente777]

*sigh*

 

Kerry Wood did not have a torn labrum....

 

good grief

 

But he did have labrum sugery. Stop being so arrogant!

 

Ken

 

How is that arrogant? You insinuated Wood had a torn labrum and was therefore in the same group of people who had a 3% chance of being ... who was it again? Anyway, there is a difference here, and as far as I can tell, it's an important difference. So, when people write about the procedure Kerry had, they should take the responsibility of reporting it accurately.

 

I didn't insinuate....I perhaps made a mistake. Apparently there is some confusion about the type of surgery Wood actually had. Perhaps I should have studied this out a bit more before I posted. But you don't have to slam somebody with "holier than thou" language. Comments such as "good grief" only show how immature some of you are. There's no call for that.

Edited February 28, 2006 by kente777

[DiamondMind]

Give Ken a break. He came here with some news and was given a sarcastic comment as a first reply.

 

Anyway, let's give Wood a chance here. One thing we have to keep in mind is the Cubs brass is responsible for him probably missing opening day. As a player, you just want to get back on the field, and you will do whatever is recommended to you by the people that cut the check.

 

Yes, Wood has proven to be injury prone so far, but he is still an under 30 year old guy, and has menacing stuff. He is a Cub, bottom line, and as long as that fact is true - we should support him.

[goonys evil twin]

Give Ken a break. He came here with some news and was given a sarcastic comment as a first reply.

 

News? I didn't see any news. What I read appears to be an inaccurate desciption of what Kerry had done. And the follow-up reply corrected it. I don't see the sarcastic comment.

[Vinestal]

Give Ken a break. He came here with some news and was given a sarcastic comment as a first reply.

 

Anyway, let's give Wood a chance here. One thing we have to keep in mind is the Cubs brass is responsible for him probably missing opening day. As a player, you just want to get back on the field, and you will do whatever is recommended to you by the people that cut the check.

 

Yes, Wood has proven to be injury prone so far, but he is still an under 30 year old guy, and has menacing stuff. He is a Cub, bottom line, and as long as that fact is true - we should support him.

 

 

When you jump to conclusions and spew information that is not backed up with any facts/sources and start talking doom and gloom you tend to get that type of response.

 

 

Here is another link with some additional quotes:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2153676

Edited February 28, 2006 by Vinestal

[kente777]

*sigh*

 

Kerry Wood did not have a torn labrum....

 

good grief

 

But he did have labrum sugery. Stop being so arrogant!

 

Ken

Not a good idea to call someone arrogant when you are wrong...

 

No, but I'd like a little respect instead of being belittled!!

[TruffleShuffle]

I don't think so. But he had some problem with his shoulder. the Labrum is on the back if I am not mistaken

 

No, the labrum is part of the shoulder... basically it is the tissue around the shoulder socket.

 

And, my understanding is that a torn labrum is, right now, the worst injury that a pitcher can suffer. Worse than a torn rotator cuff or elbow ligament.

[kente777]

Give Ken a break. He came here with some news and was given a sarcastic comment as a first reply.

 

Anyway, let's give Wood a chance here. One thing we have to keep in mind is the Cubs brass is responsible for him probably missing opening day. As a player, you just want to get back on the field, and you will do whatever is recommended to you by the people that cut the check.

 

Yes, Wood has proven to be injury prone so far, but he is still an under 30 year old guy, and has menacing stuff. He is a Cub, bottom line, and as long as that fact is true - we should support him.

 

 

When you jump to conclusions and spew information that is not backed up with any facts/sources and start talking doom and gloom you tend to get that type of response.

 

 

Here is another link with some additional quotes:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2153676

 

I made a frickin mistake. I don't deserve to be belittled. Just because you have a few posts under your belt, that gives you a right to come down on someone who perhaps was a little hasty with a post?

 

I don't need this crap from you.

Edited February 28, 2006 by kente777

[Vinestal]

Sorry for belittling it was unintentional

 

Here is some additional info:

 

Hendry said Dr. Timothy Kremchek, who performed the surgery on Wood, has been encouraging when he has examined Wood in the last couple of months.

 

 

 

"Dr. Kremchek was very happy with the shoulder in his two or three checkups with Woody throughout the winter,'' Hendry said.

 

Kremchek also was in charge of reconstructive right-elbow surgeries on Ryan Dempster and Scott Williamson in recent years. Dempster turned in a strong performance last season as the Cubs' closer, and Williamson showed gradual improvement that might make him a key member of the bullpen this season.

 

"We have good feelings about Dr. Kremchek,'' Hendry said. "His work with Dempster and Williamson was right on the money. A lot of clubs are going to him now, although he's the Reds' doctor. His reputation has really grown the last couple of years.''

 

thats from Suntimes : http://www.suntimes.com/output/cubs/cst-spt-kerry15.html

[wade]

I don't think so. But he had some problem with his shoulder. the Labrum is on the back if I am not mistaken

 

No, the labrum is part of the shoulder... basically it is the tissue around the shoulder socket.

 

And, my understanding is that a torn labrum is, right now, the worst injury that a pitcher can suffer. Worse than a torn rotator cuff or elbow ligament.

 

That's the way I understand it as well. A completely torn labrum is usually the result of a shoulder dislocation. No one, save the aforementioned Rocky Biddle, has ever come back to pitch after dislocating their shoulder. (I'm not even sure this is what happened with Biddle, I'm googling this now)

[goonys evil twin]

Belittling?

 

Why so sensitive?

[kente777]

Sorry for belittling it was unintentional

 

Here is some additional info:

 

Hendry said Dr. Timothy Kremchek, who performed the surgery on Wood, has been encouraging when he has examined Wood in the last couple of months.

 

 

 

"Dr. Kremchek was very happy with the shoulder in his two or three checkups with Woody throughout the winter,'' Hendry said.

 

Kremchek also was in charge of reconstructive right-elbow surgeries on Ryan Dempster and Scott Williamson in recent years. Dempster turned in a strong performance last season as the Cubs' closer, and Williamson showed gradual improvement that might make him a key member of the bullpen this season.

 

"We have good feelings about Dr. Kremchek,'' Hendry said. "His work with Dempster and Williamson was right on the money. A lot of clubs are going to him now, although he's the Reds' doctor. His reputation has really grown the last couple of years.''

 

thats from Suntimes : http://www.suntimes.com/output/cubs/cst-spt-kerry15.html

 

Thank you for your apology. This is the 2nd time I've been jumped on. The first time was I made an informational post that was already made and someone jumped down my throat for that.

 

this is supposed to be a helpful forum, not where you have to fear that you're gonna get attacked if you don't make a post like some of the veterans in here.