Dr. DiPaola's Blog Archives - Dr. Matthew DiPaola

Do Rotator Cuff Tears Get Bigger Over Time?

I have noted in other posts that rotator cuff tears can cause a lot of confusion. Let’s assume that your doctor has diagnosed you with a rotator cuff tear. He or she presents you with a few options: physical therapy, injections, surgery. You have a small tear. You are in a lot of pain, but … Read more

Safe Surgery

by Matthew DiPaola

One of patient’s biggest fears before they are about to undergo an operation may be that their surgeon operates on the correct body part. In medicine wrong site surgery is referred to as a “never” event: it should never happen. And while extraordinarily rare, it still occasionally does happen. Usually when it does, it makes … Read more

Anchors: Do They Come Out?

by Matthew DiPaola

As we mentioned in a previous post, most suture anchors stay in your bone for life. The technology has advanced to such a degree, that they are extraordinarily reliable and rarely come out. While we don’t have exact numbers, our experience as surgeons tells us that it is rare for them to “back-out” of bone … Read more

Anchors Away: Tiny Devices That Can Help Your Shoulder in A Big Way

by Matthew DiPaola

When I am explaining rotator cuff surgery to patients, one of the most common questions I get is, “How do you repair the tear?”

My answer typically involves an explanation of some basics about rotator cuff tears:

Four Types of Patients

by Matthew DiPaola

One of the most interesting parts of my job is that I get to interact with so many different types of people on a regular basis. Their different personality types color many of the decisions we make in the office more than most people realize.

When you are studying to be a doctor, much of the initial schooling focuses on the hard sciences: anatomy, physiology, biochemistry. But once you get through that and are a practicing professional, you find that the emphasis shifts significantly.

Smoking is Bad for Your Shoulder Too

by Matthew DiPaola

We highlighted an article a while ago about how smoking was bad for your bones in general. It not only leads to osteoporosis (weak bone) but can lead to poor healing if you are unlucky enough to break a bone.

Don’t Let Your Bones Go Up In Smoke

by Matthew DiPaola

Most people know that smoking is bad for your heart and lungs. Few people know that it’s bad for your bones and joints.

There’s a host of reasons why smoking leads to poor bone health. And I’m not sure how interested you are in the nitty gritty bichemical details of why this is. So I will cut to the chase and highlight two specific scenarios in which smoking can be bad for your bones.

Should You Exercise Before Shoulder Surgery?

by Matthew DiPaola

The other day a patient asked me if he should exercise his shoulder before getting a shoulder replacement. A little background, the patient is about 60 years old and is an avid weight lifter. I was a little confused by the question so I asked him to clarify.

He thought that if he increased his shoulder and chest strength before surgery, this would make it easier for him to recover and for me to do the surgery.

Will Your Rotator Cuff Retear After Surgery?

by Matthew DiPaola

Rotator cuff tears can be tricky. And unfortunately not all rotator cuff repairs are fool proof. Older studies showed that rotator cuff repairs failed to heal in up to 3/4 of attempts in some patients.

Newer studies tend to show more favorable results but on average still report at least a 1/4 chance of retiring of the rotator cuff repair.