Stefano Romano, an orthopaedic traumatologist and military doctor of the French club PSG (Paris Saint-Germain), helped a 17-year-old Lviv resident return to the game after an injury.
He operated on the boy and a dozen other Ukrainians, mostly military, during his visit to the First Medical Unit of Lviv.
Vitalik, a young Lviv resident, had been playing football for 11 years at the Karpaty club in Lviv. But after a series of injuries, he had to say goodbye to professional sports. Now he chases the ball as an amateur. During such a match, the guy got another injury. One of the players fell on his shoulder, causing a complicated dislocation.
Shoulder dislocation is a common injury among athletes. Immediately after receiving the injury, Vitaliy felt severe pain, which quickly disappeared as the humerus returned to its place in the joint socket. However, later on, it kept shifting again and again.
Vitaliy turned to the specialists at St Nicholas Children’s Hospital for help. At the time, Stefano Romano, an orthopaedic traumatologist from Paris, had just arrived at the First Medical Association of Lviv. He is one of the best specialists in Europe in upper limb surgery, works in one of the largest private clinics in France and treats football players of the PSG FC. So he gladly agreed to help Vitaliy.
Stefano Romano operated on the boy together with Lviv doctors. They decided to perform the operation using the Latargé method. This intervention for severe shoulder dislocations is modern, highly effective and not new to our doctors. However, Dr Romano shared a new technique for performing this operation in a less traumatic way.
During the surgery, the surgeons fixed the intra-articular area of the shoulder to the surface of the scapula with a special bolt, and then attached other structures. The operation went well. After three weeks of wearing the bandage, Vitaliy started training with a physical therapist. Specialists are confident that in a few months the young man will be able to return to the field.
By the way, this is Stefano Romano’s fourth visit to the First Lviv Medical Association. He is not only a sports doctor, but also a part-time military doctor: he has repeatedly travelled with medical missions to Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan. And now he is happy to help Ukraine and its defenders. So, during this visit, together with Lviv specialists, Stefano Romano operated on a total of 15 patients – mostly military men. The French doctor performed interventions to restore tendons and nerves.