Years of aging sports injuries — and surgery only as the last resort.

Well, I played a lot of sports in high school and college, which felt good then — but as you get older it doesn't feel quite so good. Some of those injuries that didn't really bother you a lot in your late teens and twenties start to head up over the years. So he was one joint short of the complete orthopedic sports-medicine package. I fixed both shoulders, and then he came to me for his knee that had really started bothering him. We tried non-surgical management — physical therapy, injections — but he reached a point where every step hurt and he really couldn't be as functional as we wanted. One of the reasons I liked him is that surgery was always the last resort. That kind of integrity around somebody who's willing to push off the surgery even though that's how they make their living — that impressed me. As long as I can get you better, that's the goal — it doesn't have to be surgery. So even though orthopedic surgery is in my job description, I would say more than half of the time I can get you better without surgery. If I can't get you better without surgery, then we talk about surgical options. His confidence when he comes in, as well as a really high capability and knowledge of what he's doing — put me at ease every time. My wife and I want to stay active for as long as we can. So it's really important for me to make sure as I get older, when I have issues that arise orthopedically including surgery, that I'm very comfortable with who's going to be my partner — to make sure I'm able to resume those activities as quickly as possible.