Charles Tourtellotte, of Haddonfield, NJ, was running out of options for repairing his injured left shoulder. But Gerald Williams, Jr., MD of the Rothman Institute came to the former doctor's rescue with a new procedure – reverse shoulder replacement surgery.

Approved by the Food and Drug Administration in November 2004, reverse shoulder surgery is designed for older patients who have severe rotator cuff damage, often caused by osteoarthritis. The surgery entails reversing the ball and socket device that is used for traditional shoulder replacement surgery.

For years Tourtellotte, 75 years old and a retired rheumatologist in the Delaware Valley, suffered pain brought on by osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis is the degeneration of the joint from wear and tear. He believes a combination of an active lifestyle – golf, tennis, skiing, fishing, boating – and Parkinson’s disease may have contributed to his osteoarthritis.

Of his injury, Tourtellotte says, “It was very debilitating, very painful, and left my shoulder unstable.”

Tourtellotte first underwent traditional replacement surgery to repair his left shoulder, but it continued to bother him and would often dislocate. He then turned to Gerald R. Williams, Jr., MD, who is a new orthopaedic surgeon at the Rothman Institute and who was a medical student under Tourtellotte’s at Temple University. Tourtellotte knew he was in good hands.

Gerald R. Williams, Jr., MD performed reverse shoulder surgery in November 2006. Today, Tourtellotte has restored motion and strength in his new shoulder, and pain is nearly non-existent.

Tourtellotte has worked with thousands of patients as a rheumatologist, but this was his first experience as a surgery patient. His assessment?

“I couldn’t be more pleased with how I was cared for by Dr. Williams and the Rothman Institute,” he said.

For more information on reverse shoulder replacement surgery or Gerald R. Williams, Jr., MD, call the Rothman Institute at 800.321.9999.