Real Patients - Real Stories

Steve Fish

Solar^® Shoulder Puts High School Teacher and Coach Back in Game

A high school teacher and Little League coach, Steve Fish knows the importance of doing research and choosing the right play. For him, finding the right doctor and the right solution to address advancing osteoarthritis in his right shoulder meant the difference between a life of disability or recovered ability.

Initially, doctors said he had a torn rotator cuff. When his movement became so limited he could barely throw a baseball, and cheering at a basketball game led to a trip to the ER, they prescribed pain medications. Within five years, he couldn’t adjust his rear view mirror or get a full night’s sleep. Frustrated, he found a specialist who discovered osteoarthritis was eating away at the ball in his socket to the point where his shoulder would soon be beyond repair, and shoulder replacement surgery was discussed.

After agreeing that shoulder replacement was the best treatment option, Steve and his surgeon acted quickly, and with a Stryker Solar^® shoulder replacement he is back on his game. “My surgeon performs as many as 50 shoulder replacements a year,” says Steve. “I felt confident going into surgery, and my rehab was great. Now I can reach up with both hands, get a book off a shelf, write normally on a blackboard, and sleep without constantly waking up in pain – things people said I’d never do again.”

He can even throw passes while coaching football and pitch a baseball. “Stryker’s technology is awesome,” says Steve. “Without the shoulder replacement surgery I was looking at a future full of limitations. I had the operation so I could get back to life, back to making a living. I’m so glad I did.”