Patient Testimonials - Keith

Stafford – Torn Rotator Cuff

Keith is used to physical challenges. For two decades, the 43-year-old father of four from Stafford has operated Potomac Marine, a service, towing and salvage business that provides emergency assistance for boats on the Potomac River and its tributaries.

He’s also an avid athlete, playing men’s softball in the spring and fall and beach volleyball in the summer. So when he injured his right triceps muscle during a volleyball competition in Myrtle Beach last year, he took it in stride. “I rested for a couple of days to let it heal and then I got back in the game,” he recalls. “That was a big mistake. I tore the muscle again and my arm turned black and blue. Everything hurt.”

Keith’s wife, who is a nurse, consulted her coworkers to find an orthopaedic surgeon. One of them recommended Edward Lane, MD, a Commonwealth Orthopaedics physician with multiple years of training in sports medicine, arthroscopic surgery, spinal surgery, total joint arthroplasty, and adult reconstructive surgery. “We hit it off right away,” Keith says. “He was really down to earth, explained everything clearly, and had a great rapport with his patients. I felt totally confident and comfortable with him.”

After an MRI revealed a torn rotator cuff, Dr. Lane performed a complex repair and reconstruction last December. But Keith’s surgery did not take place in a hospital. It was performed at Commonwealth’s state-of-the-art outpatient surgery center in Fairfax.

Keith and his wife opted for the surgery center for many reasons.

“They have on-staff anesthesia, an on-staff emergency team, and a dedicated group of people to take care of you,” he says. “You don’t get that kind of personalized care and attention in the hospital.”

Keith’s surgery was successful, his rotator cuff has healed, and he’s back on the job, towing boats on the Potomac and playing sports again. He calls his Commonwealth experience “very positive” and often recommends Dr. Lane to family and friends. As for his decision to have his procedure in the outpatient surgery center, he couldn’t be happier. “The staff there is everything you would want or need,” he says. “They all seemed to gel and work together; it was very smooth from start to finish.”