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York Revolution athletic trainer Chong Choi, left, and Dr. John Deitch of WellSpan Orthopedics, right, visit York Revolution’s Sean Smith at the WellSpan Surgery and Rehabilitation Hospital. |
Serious knee injury requires surgery and rehabilitiation
More than one million people have viewed the inspirational video of York Revolution outfielder Sean Smith hopping around the bases on one foot after seriously injuring his right knee after hitting a home run in the Atlantic League playoffs at Santander Stadium. To view video, click here.
The injury, originally thought to be a torn ACL by the fans and the media, was actually a patellar tendon tear. The patellar tendon attaches the bottom of the kneecap to the shinbone.
Dr. John Deitch of WellSpan Orthopedics performed the surgery to repair Smith’s torn patellar tendon. He sutured the tendon back to the kneecap.
“Sean’s injury was very serious,” offered Deitch, who was present at the game along with athletic trainer Chong Choi. WellSpan is the official Sports Medicine provider for the York Revolution. “It’s a challenging injury to make a full recovery from, especially when you are competing as a professional athlete.”
Following surgery, Smith, 32, spent several days at the WellSpan Surgery and Rehabilitation Hospital, undergoing intensive rehabilitation sessions before going home to Joliet, Ill.
Jodi Miller, physical therapist, spoke with Deitch to find out what exercises he wanted Smith to do. Miller devised a program that would help Smith begin to strengthen his right leg. Smith spent three hours a day working with the physical and occupational therapists at the hospital.
“As a professional athlete, Sean was a non-traditional rehabilitation patient,” said Miller. “He had some challenges, but we worked together to help overcome them. Sean was able to perform all the rehabilitation exercises with the proper technique when he was discharged."
“Sean has a lot of rehabilitation ahead of him,” added Deitch, who expects it will take Smith six to 12 months to completely recover from the injury. “He was, however, well into the first phase of his rehabilitation program by the time he was discharged on Oct. 4.”
Deitch was pleased with the early phases of Smith's recovery, as well as how smoothly everyone at WellSpan worked together during each step of Smith’s treatment.
“Everything worked the way we expect it to, from the beginning to the end,” said Deitch. "There is incredible teamwork here."
Smith was appreciative of the care he received.
“Everyone at WellSpan has been awesome,” he said. “There’s no one better than Dr. Deitch. I felt very comfortable with him doing my surgery. You can tell he cares about his patients. He has been very professional, answered all my questions and has gone out of his way for me.”
Smith has demonstrated the same spirit and determination in regards to his rehabilitation that he did after hitting the home run.
“I was determined to get around the bases on my own,” he said. “I even thought about crawling, if I had to. The best moment ever was when I rounded second base and saw my teammates waiting at home plate, and everyone in the crowd standing and cheering for me. It was just unbelievable,” he said.
Deitch added: “Everyone is rooting for Sean. We’re hoping he will be able to resume his professional baseball career.”