Current, older generation is more prone to hip and pelvic fractures

Nov 24 2009

A serious bicycle accident left David Goodman with a severely shattered left hip.

But ever since Dr. Michael Stover of Loyola University Health System rebuilt Goodman's pelvis and replaced his hip, the 67-year-old Chicago resident has been able to do everything that he could before his accident -- without pain.

Goodman works out or does yoga six days a week. Four months after surgery, he climbed a mountain in Israel. Last summer, he rode his bicycle 442 miles across Iowa in a week, averaging 63 miles per day. This winter, he plans to go skiing.

Stover is seeing more hip and pelvic fractures in older patients who are injured in activities such as bicycling. "Our aging population is more active than it was before," he said.

Stover is an associate professor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine.

Stover and his partner, Dr. Hobie Summers, use leading edge technologies to treat serious and sometimes life-threatening orthopedic conditions such as pelvic fractures, broken legs, foot and ankle injuries and dislocations. They also treat patients who have experienced multiple traumatic injuries.

Summers' areas of expertise include fractures that fail to heal, are slow to heal or heal improperly. "It's very rewarding to take a bone that doesn't heal and get it to heal so the patient can get back to his life," Summers said. "You can significantly improve patients' function, pain and disability, and get them back to work and to their normal activities. They are very happy." Summers is an assistant professor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgergy and Rehabilitation at Stritch.

Stover and Summers have completed fellowships in orthopedic traumatology. Stover has additional fellowship training in pelvic and acetabular (hip socket) reconstruction. Stover's comprehensive hip and pelvis practice includes treatments for such conditions as hip arthritis, congenital problems, trauma and fractures that do not heal or heal improperly.

Stover specializes in cases that are complex and difficult. Goodman's case is a good example. In 2007, Goodman collided with a fellow bicyclist while doing a group ride on Lake Shore Drive in Chicago. The nearest hospital did not have the expertise to treat his injury, so Goodman was transferred to Loyola.

Stover performed surgery to repair Goodman's fractured left hip socket. The fracture healed, but Goodman later developed painful arthritis of the hip. In 2008, Stover performed a total hip replacement, and Goodman has been pain free ever since.

Another Stover patient, Jill Gillis of suburban Lockport, suffered an even more complex hip injury. She was riding her horse when the horse was spooked, reared up and fell backward on her. Her pelvis was shattered under the weight of the 1,500-pound horse. She was airlifted to Loyola, where Stover put her pelvis back together with plates and screws.

Gillis, 42, spent a month in the hospital and another two or three months at home in bed. She had a limp at first, but now walks normally. "People don't even know I was in an accident," she said. "Dr. Stover's team did miraculous work. I thank God for his hands."

http://www.meddean.luc.edu/