What’s been the biggest advance in orthopedics recently?
Being able to restore joints, and all the different technologies we have to be able to keep middle-aged people active, whether that be arthroscopic procedures, exercise, prevention, open procedures. The biggest thing that’s changed is the mind-set of saying, “You’re 60, you shouldn’t be playing tennis, playing on baseball or softball teams.” Now it’s, “Let’s find a way to do it.” It’s one of our biggest challenges, but one of our biggest advances. There have been gradual steps consistently over the last 10 years. Q: In China, what did you find the state of sports medicine to be? They’re advanced in knees, but not in shoulders. Virtually nobody is doing advanced reconstruction of the shoulder or elbow. They can do open rotator cuff surgery, but arthroscopically, they needed this initial exposure. They’re about 15 years behind where we are. Sports medicine is huge in the States; you can’t turn on the television without seeing ads for workout equipment or products for aches and pains. But
