Emory Healthcare president and CEO chooses "home team" for shoulder surgery

John T. Fox, president and CEO of Emory Healthcare, had been suffering from chronic shoulder pain for more than a year.

"I tried physical therapy to relieve it and when that was unsuccessful, I tried to tough it out," says Fox. "Ultimately, I went to have it evaluated, and six months later, about three years ago, I decided in favor of surgical intervention with arthroscopic surgery on an outpatient basis.

"John was in longstanding pain," echoes Dr. John W. Xerogeanes, MD, chief of the Emory Sports Medicine Center. "Injections helped, but did not last. Physical therapy did not work. He suffered from impingement syndrome, the most common problem in the shoulder. During surgery, he was found to have an inflamed sub acromial bursa, as well as a posterior superior labral tear. The procedure I performed, a sub acromial decompression, labral debridement, was a success."

Fox could have gone anywhere, but chose his "home team" and Dr. Xerogeanes, because, "I knew he was outstanding. He is fellowship trained in sports medicine, which, in my view, is key for that kind of joint injury. He has done a lot of shoulder work. He is well known in the sports medicine field nationally and is regarded as a very strong physician within his area of specialty."

Fox did his rehab at Emory Physical Therapy and, after an aggressive therapy program, was fully-recovered within 60 to 90 days. Today, Fox follows an exercise regimen with aerobics and weights and plays golf when he gets the time.

"I think the Emory Sports Medicine Center is an outstanding facility," says Fox. "There is nothing like it in Atlanta. It's probably one of the top five in the country, in terms of a comprehensive orthopaedic and spine center. In fact, my son had hand surgery there with a successful outcome."