The Sports Docs Podcast
Sports medicine is a constantly evolving field, with hundreds of new articles published each month on the topic. This ever-growing wealth of information can make it challenging to stay updated on the newest approaches and techniques, and to know which data should actually change your practice. Join orthopedic surgeons, Dr. Catherine Logan and Dr. Ashley Bassett, as they chat about the most recent developments in sports medicine and dissect through all the noise.
On each episode of The Sports Docs podcast, the hosts will tackle a specific injury – from ACL tears to shoulder instability – and review the top research from various high-impact journals that month, including The American Journal of Sports Medicine, Arthroscopy: The Journal of Arthroscopic and Related Surgery, Sports Health, Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons, and more. The Sports Docs will also be joined by experts in the field of sports medicine – orthopedic surgeons, nonoperative sports medicine specialists, athletes, physical therapists, athletic trainers and others – to provide a fresh and well-rounded perspective based on their unique experiences.
The Sports Docs – Dr. Logan & Dr. Bassett – are friends & former co-residents from the Harvard Combined Orthopaedic Residency Program, who went onto esteemed sports medicine fellowships at The Steadman Clinic and The Rothman Institute, respectively. Dr. Logan practices in Denver, CO, and serves as Team Physician for Men's USA Lacrosse & as a Team Physician for U.S. Ski & Snowboard. Dr. Bassett is the director of the Women’s Sports Medicine Center at the Orthopedic Institute of New Jersey and practices across northern NJ, primarily in Morris and Sussex Counties.
Together, they will bring monthly conversations on how to care for athletes of all ages and levels of play, with a healthy mix of cutting-edge science and real-world application.
The Sports Docs Podcast
46. LIVE from AOSSM: Off the Cuff - Subacromial Balloon & Biceps SMASH (Dr. Nikhil Verma & Dr. John Tokish)
Today's episode focuses on two different surgical techniques for management of complex rotator cuff injuries: (1) The biceps SMASH technique for augmentation of a repairable rotator cuff tear. (2) The subacromial balloon spacer – InSpace by Stryker – to manage irreparable rotator cuff tears. We are joined today by two distinguished guests:
Dr. Nikhil Verma is the Director of the Sports Medicine Division and the Sports Medicine Fellowship at Rush , head team physician for the Chicago White Sox and team physician for the Chicago Bulls . He will be discussing use of the Stryker InSpace balloon implant to treat irreparable posterosuperior rotator cuff tears.
Dr. John Tokish is the President of the Arthroscopy Association of North America and Director of the Sports Medicine Fellowship at Mayo Clinic in Arizona . Dr. Tokish will be speaking about the “biceps smash technique” — using long head of biceps tendon autograft to biologically augment rotator cuff repair.
In this episode, we discuss:
What are the benefits of using biceps autograft SMASH rather than many of the other scaffold options that are available, such as acellular dermal allograft, xenografts or other autograft tissue?
How is the biceps graft harvested, prepared and then secured to the rotator cuff repair? (Check out our Instagram - @thesportsdocspod - for images of the graft preparation.)
Which patients are ideal candidates for the InSpace subacromial balloon spacer? Should we be adding the balloon to rotator cuff repairs to protect the repair construct?
What are some pearls and pitfalls to optimize InSpace placement and avoid complications?
How do patients do after the InSpace procedure? How are the clinical outcomes compared to other treatments for MIRCTs?