A shoulder (re)built for real life: Scott's pyrocarbon story

Scott D. spent most of his life doing the kind of things shoulders do not always forgive: hard construction work, concrete jobs and years of waterskiing. “I waterskied my whole life and did construction — heavy, heavy work,” he said. “When I was younger, I did crazy stuff … instead of picking up one 2x4, I’d pick up six or eight.”

Eventually, his right shoulder (his dominant side) began to protest in no uncertain terms. It had reached its limit.  At night, the pain became relentless. “It would feel like somebody was putting a butcher knife into my shoulder,” Scott recalled. “It would keep me up at night. It was terrible.” For a while, he tried to manage it on his own just to get some sleep. But the pattern didn’t change, especially when Colorado weather rolled in. “I could always tell when a storm was coming. The barometric pressure would drop and that burning would wake me up again,” he said.

A recommendation from someone he trusted brought him to Western Orthopaedics, where he met Dr. Benjamin Sears. The diagnosis was straightforward — shoulder arthritis, classic wear and tear built up over decades of work and play. His care plan started conservatively with cortisone injections. “They did fine for a while,” he said, but after a couple of years, he was still stuck in the cycle of flare ups, sleepless nights and limits on everyday living.

Then the conversation changed. Surgery was looking like the best option. However, historically, younger, active patients were told to wait for a shoulder replacement because traditional shoulder implants were known to wear out under decades of heavy use. For someone like Scott, who wanted to work overhead, lift and stay active, that posed a real dilemma. But Dr. Sears explains there was another path: a newer “ball-only” shoulder option that uses pyrocarbon, a next generation material designed for longevity in active patients.

Part of what makes this story especially meaningful for those in Colorado is that the Front Range has access to national-level expertise, pioneering expertise. Dr. Armodios Hatzidakis, an orthopedic surgeon and colleague of Dr. Sears at Western Orthopaedics, was instrumental in helping bring pyrocarbon to real world use. He helped lead the FDA investigational devise study and performed one of the nation’s first FDA approved clinical cases, helping open the door for patients in Denver and across the Rocky Mountain Region to have this option closer to home.

Dr. Sears recommended the pyrocarbon approach for Scott and helped him plan the right time for surgery. Scott managed symptoms with injections until he moved forward with surgery in April 2023, successfully performed by Dr. Sears.

Scott is the first to tell people that recovery is not instant. “I’m not saying it’s a surgery where after I was done with it, I felt great,” he explained. “It’s a full three-month recovery resting your shoulder.” What made the difference, he believes, was committing to rehab. “My insurance would pay for two times of physical therapy per week, but I didn’t do two times,” he said. “I religiously did every single day.”

The consistency paid off. “I get a full 180 degrees out of it,” Scott said. “I’m very pleased with it — very happy about my range of motion.” It took time, but the trajectory kept moving in the right direction. Today, he is back to doing the kinds of tasks that make up his daily life — ladders, overhead work, and the day-to-day demands of a physical life. “Today, I was standing on a ladder reaching as far as I could, cutting wires out of a ceiling with no problem,” he said. “It doesn’t bother me.”

For Scott, the biggest takeaway is simple: do not resign yourself to “you’re too young,” and do not underestimate the process. “I can’t stress enough how important the therapy is,” he advised. “Follow the directions and you’ll be fine.” And when it comes to his care at Western Orthopaedics, he does not hesitate. “They’re a great team down there,” Scott said. “I’m very pleased with them.” Now the shoulder that once kept him up at night is back to doing what it was built for: carrying the weight of real life.