Roscommon Man Back in Action After Rotator Cuff Repair

Roscommon Man Back in Action After Rotator Cuff Repair

CLARE, Mich. – Clare Trischler, 63, suffered from pain in his right shoulder for decades, believing it was the wear and tear that can come from being a student athlete. Over the years, he continued to exercise it and even participated in physical therapy. However, an incident last summer presented him with acute pain from which he couldn’t recover. Thanks to MyMichigan Health Orthopedic Surgeon Teresa Hall, D.O., Trischler is feeling better than he has in years.

Trischler, an avid jet skier, was riding on the lake when he torqued his shoulder. “I have led an active life and have coped with shoulder pain for years,” the former pitcher said. “After that day on my jet ski, the pain was very intense and unmanageable. I was in so much pain that it woke me up at night, and there were certain movements and everyday activities I absolutely could not do without pain.”

Trischler had a consultation with Dr. Hall at MyMichigan Medical Center Clare, and she ordered an MRI to determine the extent of damage to the cartilage, tendons and ligaments around his shoulder. “Dr. Hall is a great communicator,” Trischler said. “She asked and answered questions while testing my range of motion and resistance. She suspected that my rotator cuff was damaged, and the MRI was ordered to confirm her initial thoughts.”

When the MRI came back, it revealed a 90 percent tear of the rotator cuff in Trischler’s right shoulder. “Dr. Hall reviewed the test results with me and we both agreed that I was definitely past the point of pain injections and/or therapy,” Trischler said. “At that point we discussed surgery and she gave me predictable outcomes for what it would accomplish: pain relief and regaining a fair range of motion. She didn’t overpromise, though; she couldn’t guarantee I’d regain a 100 percent of my strength, but I was okay with that and appreciated her honesty.”

Dr. Hall performed arthroscopic rotator cuff repair surgery and made more space for the tendons to move through subacromial decompression. Labral debridement (shaving down the cartilage of the labrum) smoothed out the socket and joint for Trischler’s shoulder to move more easily and without pain. The surgery was completed and Trischler returned home the same day. “My original pain was gone right away,” he shared. “My six-week follow-up appointment was very positive, and my outcome was awesome. I have full range of motion and strength in my shoulder and I couldn’t be more grateful for Dr. Hall’s expertise.”

A goal of Trischler’s prior to surgery was to be able to pull down the garage door without pain. Not only is he doing that successfully, but he can shovel stone and is back to enjoying his jet ski again. Dr. Hall performs surgeries at MyMichigan Medical Centers in Alma, Clare and Mt. Pleasant. Those who would like more information may visit //www.mymichigan.org/teresahall. 

MyMichigan Health, a non-profit health system headquartered in Midland, Michigan, is a leader in providing award-winning, high-quality care to the 26-county region it serves. With Medical Centers in Alma, Alpena, Clare, Gladwin, Midland, Mt. Pleasant, Saginaw,* Sault Ste. Marie, Standish,* Tawas* and West Branch, MyMichigan also has affiliations with Medical Centers in St. Ignace* and Mackinac Island*. MyMichigan Health provides a full continuum of care across a wide array of settings, including urgent care centers, home health, virtual care, as well as medical offices in more than 80 specialties and subspecialties including cardiology, family medicine, hematology/oncology, neurosciences, orthopedics, pediatrics, vascular surgery, and more. MyMichigan Health demonstrates its commitment to the future of medicine by partnering with leading institutions to offer medical education programs that train medical students, physicians, nurse practitioner and physician assistant students, nursing students and other clinical experts for our region. Recognized by Forbes in 2022 and 2023 as one of ‘America’s Best Employers by State,’ MyMichigan is a major employer in all of the areas it serves. In fact, it’s more than 13,800 employees, volunteers, health care providers and other personnel work together to create healthy communities through solutions designed to meet the ever-changing needs of the 981,000 residents in the health system’s 26-county service area. In fiscal year 2022, MyMichigan Health provided $132 million in community benefits, as well as supported its patients and families with new equipment, services and programs with funds raised by the MyMichigan Health Foundation.

*Not affiliated with the University of Michigan Health System.

Caption: Clare Trischler is back to enjoying some jet ski time on the lake following his arthroscopic rotator cuff repair surgery.