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Hand Center Helps a Phillie Have a “Short Stop” on Injured List

Last spring, the Phillies were off to one of their best starts in recent history, keeping pace with many of the league’s top teams for the first two months of the season. A big reason for their good start was the play of their shortstop Desi Relaford, who was batting over .300 for most of the season’s first eight weeks, while turning in some spectacular defensive plays in the field.

What many baseball fans did not know was that for nearly a year, Relaford had been playing with a growing discomfort in his right wrist that he could feel worsening as the season wore on. One night in early June, while taking batting practice before a game, Relaford felt his wrist “go” as he took a swing from the left side of the plate. Although he managed to play a portion of the game that night, he knew that the problem was more severe then just the normal wear and tear of a professional baseball season. The injury was diagnosed by the Phillies’ long-time team physician, Phillip Marone, M.D. as being torn ligaments in the wrist, an injury that is fairly common for baseball players. The injury prevented the switch-hitting Relaford from swinging left-handed.

Eight days after the injury, Relaford was in the Hand Center’s office to undergo Triangular Fibrocartilage Complex (TFCC) surgery with Dr. Randall W. Culp. The arthroscopic surgery is a minimally invasive procedure that can have a recovery period of anywhere from a few weeks to several months depending on the severity of the injury. Unfortunately, Relford’s ligaments had been significantly damaged over the course of the year. Though the surgery was successful, Relaford was told that he would probably not play again during the 1999 season, as the rehabilitation period was likely to last for several months.

Over the next three weeks, Relaford was upgraded from the full-arm cast to one that extended just below the elbow. Three weeks later, the elbow cast was removed, and only eight weeks after the surgery, Relaford was hitting baseballs off of a practice tee — a remarkable feat. In early September, Relaford returned to the Phillies starting lineup, and played the final weeks of the season.

“I was playing as if nothing had happened,” said a grateful Relaford. “I felt like I even had a little more pop to my swing because of all of the conditioning exercises that I was forced to undergo during my rehab. I wasn’t holding back at all.”

Relaford credits the excellent treatment of Dr. Culp as being a primary reason he was able to come back from such a potentially devastating injury so quickly. “He did a great job with the surgery,” said Relaford. “The entire procedure was completely professional and it’s because of the work that he did that I had the opportunity to come back as quickly as I did. I’m very grateful.”

So are the Phillies, who, thanks to the Hand Center, look forward to having their starting shortstop ready to go for the start of the 2000 season.