SHOULDER SURGERY AND SPORTS MEDICINE

For Appointments Call (830) 997-4043

Dr. Romanick has specific expertise in the evaluation and correction of shoulder ailments, including arthroscopic surgery and joint replacement. Shoulder dysfunction is one of the most common afflictions that patients experience.
These difficulties can be associated with rotator cuff problems, labral problems and arthritic problems. 

Rotator cuff disease is the most common problem that affects the shoulder.  Treatment is conservative initially with physical therapy, medications and injections.  This usually helps most people but some are resistant and require operative intervention.  This consists of using an arthroscope through very small incisions to resect osteophytes (spurs) and repair rotator cuff tears.  Dr. Romanick does all his procedures through the arthroscope to ensure a quick and complete recovery.  He uses local physical therapy consultants to help with the rehabilitation process as well.

Advances have been made in labral and instability (dislocation) problems in the shoulder and Dr. Romanick can do most procedures through small incisions as well.

When arthritis takes over in a particular patient and all conservative options have been exhausted then a shoulder replacement may be the only alternative.  Dr. Romanick routinely does total shoulder replacements and reverse total shoulder replacements in the appropriate situations.  Hospitalizations are usually one to two days and after a rehabilitation period, people are very satisfied with the results

 
Dr. Romanick also takes care of sports medicine patients.  These primarily involve the knee, with ligament and meniscal (cartilage) injuries and the shoulder.  The great majority of ligament reconstructions and repairs are done through small incisions with the arthroscope in order to obtain a speedy recovery.  Again, all the problems must be individualized for each patient.  These decisions are made with in office consultations between the patient and Dr. Romanick.

TOTAL KNEE REPLACEMENT

For Appointments Call (830) 997-4043

Total knee replacements are done to treat arthritic knees with severe pain and disability.  The procedure removes the arthritic cartilage and spurs and resurfaces the bone ends with cobalt chrome metal and very resilient plastic called high molecular polyethylene.  The procedure eliminates pain and improves function so that the patients are very satisfied with the end result.

Dr. Romanick has been doing knee replacements in the Hill Country since 1988.  He is skilled in small incision knee surgery, computer assisted surgery (CAS) and quad sparing surgery.

Small incision and quad sparing surgery are newer techniques that use less dissection and less disruption of tissues so that a quicker recovery can be made.

Dr. Romanick also has the capability to use computer assisted devices which can enable more consistent accuracy when making the cuts to place a knee replacement. 

The type of prosthesis used by Dr. Romanick is a top of the line implant which is called a posterior stabilized total knee replacement.  It has been studied extensively and has a twenty year survival rate of 92%.  He also has the capability of using other prostheses such as gender specific, rotating platform, and unicompartimental prostheses when necessary.

Gender specific prostheses are manufactured to more closely size the knee implant to the smaller bones of female recipients.

Rotating platform prostheses move in two directions (bend and rotate) and have a theoretical advantage when tested under laboratory conditions.

Unicompartimental prostheses are used in specific situations when only half of the knee is arthritic and symptoms exist only on the affected side.  In this case it is possible to do a less invasive procedure and replace only half of the joint.

If a patient wishes to request a specific type of prosthesis, the pros and cons are discussed with the individual and the appropriate knee replacement is chosen and used.  The type used is individualized for each patient before a final decision is made.

TOTAL HIP REPLACEMENT

For Appointments Call (830) 997-4043

Total hip replacements are used to alleviate pain and disability in patients with osteoarthritis, avascular necrosis and inflammatory arthritis. 

The procedure removes the arthritic head, replaces the acetabulum (socket) with an appropriate size implant and then reconstitutes the head with a stem that inserts into the bone on the femur side (thigh bone).  Both sides of the prosthesis grow into the bone and will last twenty years.

The total hip is very successful at decreasing pain and disability and is very effective at improving function.

Dr. Romanick is trained in all the different types of hip surgery including minimal incision, two incision and anterior incision surgery, all of which have been designed to decrease disability and shorten recovery time.  Dr. Romanick also has access to all the different types of hip replacement prostheses available.  These include metal on metal, metal on plastic, boney in growth and large head technologies.  Deciding what is best for a patient is an individual decision and would be made preoperatively during an office consultation.
 

Hand Surgery and Treatment