Dr. Dougherty’s First-Quarter Roundup

January

Spoke on Rotator cuff repairs in Santa Barbara, California. Meeting went very well. Double row arthroscopic rotator cuff repairs are rapidly becoming the standard of care and it is gratifying to be able to teach this technique to others.

February

Returned from Florida, where I worked in the lab on new surgical procedures for Bicep repairs and minimally invasive shoulder repairs. I also worked on a new technique for ACL reconstructions that I have United States Patent pending. Very excited about bringing this to the public to restore normal kinematics in the knee.

Spoke to the Rogers Optimist club about Double Bundle ACL reconstructions where we restore the normal native bundles of a torn ACL to the knee instead of just one, which is how a reconstruction is usually performed. What is most important is understanding how two bundles are being seen to be more protective to your knee cartilage than one bundle.

Just completed our third Annual Razor Sports Medicine Symposium, in Fayetteville, AR. The meeting is designed to bring the latest in orthopedic surgery and rehabilitation to the athletic trainers, physicians and other caregivers in Northwest Arkansas. This year was no different in that we brought out information that will help keep all of the athletes of NWA on the playing field.

March

Attended the Hip arthroscopy summit in Vail, Colorado. This was a very exciting meeting where hip arthroscopy surgeons met to discuss outcome studies, and challenges in hip arthroscopy. It is refreshing to see so many publications coming out showing significant sustained improvement from baseline following hip arthroscopy for specific injuries.

Returned from the AOASM sports medicine meeting in Snowbird, Utah. Spoke there on single socket double bundle ACL reconstructions. I truly believe this procedure will be the next wave of improvement in ACL repairs. Standard double bundle can be limited by the patient’s knee, but this new technique provides a double bundle ACL (as close to your original ligament before it tore) to be placed into nearly all patients.