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Dr. Walter Lowe to Lead Orthopaedics at UT Medical School and Memorial Hermann-TMC

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 16:00:00 GMT

HOUSTON – (July 31, 2009) – Walter R. Lowe, M.D., the new head of the orthopaedic programs at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center, has been treating Houston’s top professional and college athletes for more than a decade. He is a team physician for the Houston Texans and Houston Rockets, as well as the University of Houston, Strake Jesuit College Preparatory and North Shore Senior High School.

Lowe has been named the new chairman of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston and the chief of Orthopedics at Memorial Hermann-TMC. Lowe, an orthopaedic surgeon who graduated from the UT Medical School in 1983, will assume his new positions Aug. 15.

“Dr. Lowe has distinguished himself in the field of orthopaedic surgery and sports medicine,” said Giuseppe Colasurdo, M.D., dean of the UT Medical School. "I am certain he will build an extraordinary department with emphasis on the highest standards of patient care and service. And I am confident that he is particularly committed to the advancement of our educational programs."

“My No. 1 priority is to make sure the orthopaedic surgery residents get the best training possible,” Lowe said. “I want to grow the department and recruit top faculty members. Memorial Hermann and the UT Medical School have the commitment to do just that.”

Lowe, who has been a medical director of the Memorial Hermann Sports Medicine Institute since it opened in 2007, is looking forward to the challenges associated with his new role at its flagship hospital.

“Dr. Lowe’s skill as a surgeon, his broad sports medicine experience and his commitment to exceptional patient care have been and will continue to be a great asset to Memorial Hermann-TMC and to our patients,” said Juanita Romans, CEO of the Memorial Hermann-TMC Campus.

Lowe specializes in the care of injured knees, shoulders and elbows. Lowe also treats joint problems that are congenital or develop through normal wear and tear.
Lowe studied under legendary baseball doctor Frank Jobe, M.D., who in 1974 pioneered a procedure to repair injured pitching arms called the “Tommy John surgery.” John was the first major league baseball player to receive the operation technically known as an ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction.

The son of a football coach, Lowe played high school football in Las Vegas, N.M., and tennis at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colo.

Helping athletes return to the football field or basketball court is gratifying, said Lowe, a native of Denton, Texas. “You are giving people back a lifestyle and a way of life,” he said.

Lowe completed a fellowship at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles, an internship at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth and a residency at Tarrant County Affiliated Hospitals in Fort Worth. He is a member of the National Football League Physicians Society, the Association of Professional Team Physicians, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine and the American College of Sports Medicine. He is the only active member in Houston of the ACL Study Group, an international organization consisting of a select group of highly-specialized physicians. Lowe also served as a team physician for the Houston Oilers before they moved to Tennessee in 1997 and for the Houston Comets, which suspended operations last year.

Lowe’s medical education experience includes 14 years on the faculty of Baylor College of Medicine, where he has been serving as director of the Baylor Sports Medicine Fellowship and chief of the Sports Medicine Section.

Rob Cahill
Media Hotline: 713-500-3030

7-Aug-09 11:00 AM

Lowe Named New Chair of Orthopaedic Surgery

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 02:00:00 GMT

Following a national search, Dean Giuseppe Colasurdo has named Dr. Walter Lowe the new chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, effective Aug. 15.

Lowe comes to the Medical School from Baylor College of Medicine, where he has served as an associate professor of orthopaedic surgery since 1995. He also was the chief of the Sports Medicine Section and served as medical director of the Roger Clemens Institute of Sports Medicine and Human Performance. He serves as the team physician for the Houston Texans and the University of Houston.

In his new role at the Medical School, he also will serve as medical director of orthopaedic surgery services at Memorial Hermann–Texas Medical Center and LBJ General Hospital.

“Dr. Lowe has distinguished himself in the field of orthopaedic surgery and sports medicine,” said Dean Giuseppe Colasurdo. "I am certain he will build an extraordinary department with emphasis on the highest standard of patient care and service. And, I am confident that he will be particularly committed to the advancement of our educational programs."

Lowe is a 1983 graduate of the Medical School and completed an internship at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth, an orthopaedic residency at Tarrant County Affiliated Hospitals, and a fellowship at Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles. He is certified in orthopaedic surgery and sports medicine. He specializes in sports medicine with an emphasis on diagnosing and treating a wide range of knee, shoulder, and elbow injuries and disorders.

16-Jul-09 9:00 PM

Teen Athlete Continues Active Lifestyle Thanks to Tissue Transplant

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 16:00:00 GMT

Seventeen year old Chance Murski from Richmond, Texas, was born with a discoid meniscus. Sometimes called, Knee-Popping Syndrome, a discoid meniscus is an abnormally shaped meniscus within the knee joint. This can cause a popping sensation with pain over the outside part of the knee joint. Many people live normal, active lives with a discoid meniscus--even high performance athletes.

Unfortunately, this was not the case with Chance. Whenever he bent his right knee, a “pop” could be heard. He had his first surgery at the age of five. At that time, the surgeon told Chance’s parents that he would have to have another surgery in his teenage years to allow room for the growth of his femur bone.

Chance started playing baseball at the age of six in the position of catcher. In 2004, Chance’s team, the Lamar Blaze, advanced to the Little League World Series and won. Shortly after this accomplishment, Chance was scheduled for additional surgeries.

The Murskis felt guilty for allowing Chance to pursue athletics. Their surgeon, Dr. Walter Lowe, assured them that this surgery is common in catchers. He told them they should be proud of Chance for what he’s been able to accomplish thus far with his birth defect.

One year after his surgery on February 5, 2008,

Dr. Lowe released Chance to start jogging, swinging a bat and throwing a baseball once again. By the end of the season, he had the top stats out of 20 baseball players on the Junior Varsity High School Baseball team.

“With out the donor, modern technology and the obvious passion of this surgeon, Chance would not have a normal knee, and much less be able to pursue his dreams,” stated Chance’s mother, Tara.

5-Nov-08 10:00 AM

Cutting Edge Technique Improves Long-Term ACL Reconstruction Results

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 13:00:00 GMT

For many athletes who experience debilitating injury to their anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) – the ligament that keeps the knee in place – getting back to the same level of performance is difficult. But doctors at the Roger Clemens Institute for Sports Medicine & Human Performance at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center offer an innovative surgery that can help these athletes return to play – and still maintain a healthy knee decades down the line. It’s called the double-bundle ACL reconstruction.

“Unlike traditional ACL surgeries, double-bundle ACL reconstruction recreates the normal anatomy of the ligament,”explains Walter Lowe, M.D., co-medical director at the Roger Clemens Institute for Sports Medicine & Human Performance at Memorial Hermann and chief of sports medicine, department of orthopaedic surgery, Baylor College of Medicine. “This technique is supported by the biomechanical literature and has been performed in other countries for years with excellent results.”

Dr. Lowe, who performs up to 350 ACL reconstruction surgeries each year, has extensively studied doublebundle reconstruction in Germany. The procedure is new to the United States but currently offered by Dr. Lowe at the Rogers Clemens Institute.

The ACL at Work

The ACL, which connects the thigh and shin bones, is comprised of two bundles of ligament tissue that fan out through the knee. These bundles keep the knee stable by preventing the shin from sliding forward at any range of motion. Many sports require a functioning ACL for moves such as quick turns and pivots.

Double-Bundle Benefits

In traditional ACL surgery, the ligament is replaced with a single graft of tissue that’s bundled together to connect the two bones. In contrast, the double-bundle technique uses two grafts, which better control the rotation of the knee.

“The technique recreates the old ligament as it was,” says Dr. Lowe. “As a result, it provides excellent long-term function and, unlike traditional surgery, reduces damage to the knee’s cartilage, lowering the risk of arthritis over time.”

Dr. Lowe explains that not everyone is a candidate for this surgery. For example, the reconstruction takes longer to heal, so it’s not appropriate for those who want to get back to high-impact activity immediately. He also stresses that the double-bundle technique is not the only way to fix an ACL injury. Single-bundle reconstruction is still an appropriate solution for many people.

Health Highlight Article: Cutting Edge Technique Improves Long-Term ACL Reconstruction Results. (PDF)

13-Mar-08 8:00 AM

A Biomechanical Wonder, 100 Times a Game

Fri, 04 May 2007 17:00:00 GMT

THE long spring windup is over. Major League Baseball begins its 2007 season tonight, and for the league’s 360 pitchers, the challenge not only will be to win, but to stay out of the doctor’s office over the course of the 162-game regular season.

Using your arm to throw a baseball 95 miles an hour or more has long been considered about as natural an act for a human as flapping them while jumping off a cliff. Almost every pitcher in the major leagues undergoes surgery at some point in his career — often several times. Many sport six-inch scars running up their elbows and shoulders like luggage zippers, where ligaments and tendons have been relocated from remote bodily locales.

Pitching is a biomechanical wonder, says Dr. Vonda Wright, an orthopedic surgeon at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. A ball thrown by a professional takes less than a half-second from the time of release until it slams into the catcher’s mitt some 60 feet away.

Accelerating the ball from zero to more than 90 miles an hour is a task so demanding, Dr. Wright says, that a pitcher’s shoulder and elbow experience near-failure forces with every pitch. And, Dr. Wright says, “a pitcher has to recreate that amazing force 100 times a game.” It’s no wonder, then, that pitchers usually have to rest four days after every game.

The seeming inevitability of pitching injuries has led some baseball experts to handicap a team’s pennant chances not by its ability to sidestep defeats, but to sidestep orthopedists. The cliché has evolved from “Pitching wins championships” to “You can’t have enough pitching” to “Whoever’s pitchers stay healthiest will win.”

To put it another way, as the Boston Red Sox ace Curt Schilling often does, “The team whose No. 1 through 5 starters make the most starts will win the division.”

Teams have grown more protective of their pitchers over the past 20 years — thanks largely to guaranteed contracts, which discourage teams from burning out arms — and have embraced the use of pitch limits. Whereas Nolan Ryan would often throw 150 pitches in a game, few pitchers today reach 120 or even 110 without extreme scrutiny from the team’s front office and the talk-radio firing squad.

Debates rage over how 90 pitches can be far more strenuous for a pitcher than 120 depending on the types of pitches and the tightness of the game. But the click-counter has joined chewing tobacco and a strong rump-slap among pitching-coach essentials.

“I think that you don’t have a set, fast rule, but you pay close attention when that pitcher gets up around 100 pitches,” the St. Louis Cardinals pitching coach, Dave Duncan, says. “You do all of the things that you can to give him the best chance to be at his best during the course of the season. Part of that is to not run him into the ground at any particular point in time.”

Starting this spring, Little League Baseball, which has 2.3 million players worldwide, will use total pitches (as opposed to innings thrown) to determine when a pitcher must leave the game.

So Play Ball! At least until the clicker says you can’t. ALAN SCHWARZ and GINA KOLATA

View Full Article

4-May-07 12:00 PM

Psychological Issues Related to Injury in Athletes

Fri, 05 Jan 2007 20:00:00 GMT

Team physicians must address the physical and psychological issues related to athletic activity. This athletic activity may result in physical injuries, and these injuries produce a variety of psychological reactions. Additionally, psychological factors, especially stress, are an important antecedent to injuries, play an important role in injury rehabilitation, and contribute to successful return to play. While noninjury psychological issues related to athletic activity exist, they are outside the scope of this consensus statement.

Download and view the Team Physician Consensus Statement

5-Jan-07 2:00 PM

Unique knee injury jeopardizes tackle's care

Fri, 05 Jan 2007 20:00:00 GMT

Texans rookie Charles Spencer has a metal plate and about eight screws in his knee. The fracturethat ended his season after just two starts has healed.

That doesn't mean the Texans will have their starting left offensive tackle back any time soon, though. In fact, what appeared to be a bright NFL future for Spencer is now in question because of cartilage around his knee that was damaged as a result of the injury.

"It's certainly an injury that threatens a guy's career, especially a guy like Spencer," said Dr. Walter Lowe, the team physician who performed Spencer's surgery Sept. 18. Among the 17 players who landed on injured reserve this season, Spencer has the injury — a fracture of the tibial plateau — that most concerns the Texans.

Read the Full Story
Source: Houston Chronicle

5-Jan-07 2:00 PM

Female athletes seeking an end to career-ending injury

Jenny Dial — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 13:00:00 GMT

AT RISK: FEMALE ATHLETES

Seeking an end to career-ending injury

As 4 players on Katy Taylor's basketball team learned, ACL tears are devastating and debilitating. But proper training can reduce the risk.

By JENNY DIAL
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

Julie Kroll's knee injury changed her outlook on basketball. Suffering the same injury twice in six months changed her outlook on life.

"I really miss playing basketball," Kroll, 18, said. "But after I tried to come back a second time, I realized that I would like to be able to walk in 20 years."

Athletes are susceptible to anterior cruciate ligament injuries because a tear can occur while changing directions, pivoting, jumping, slowing down from running and making horizontal movements.

An ACL tear is a devastating and painful injury for anyone. But research shows that women are far more likely to be stricken. The NCAA's latest research findings are alarming:

•About 2,200 female college athletes — one of 10 — tear an ACL every year.
•One in 100 female high school athletes will suffer a serious knee injury each year.
•Women have an incidence of knee injuries four to eight times higher than men.
For Kroll, these statistics became her reality. She was the first of four players on the same Katy Taylor basketball team to tear an ACL in a span of 27 months. All four are now 18, and at least three of them will never play the game again.

Kroll's second surgery was a failure, meaning the damaged ligament was irreparable.

Ten months after Kroll's injury, teammate Caitlyn Scelfo tore her ACL. Scelfo's tear — which she calls "the loudest sound I have ever heard" — required two surgeries and has knocked her out of basketball permanently.

Kroll's twin sister, Kara, tore her left ACL two months later. Her playing career also is done.

And 11 months later, Brittany Backhaus became the fourth teammate to suffer the same fate. She is attempting a comeback.

Most athletes who tear an ACL hear a loud "pop" and lose all stability in the bottom half of their legs. Rehabilitation takes from six to 12 months.

"It's like trying to walk on roller skates," Scelfo said of trying to move after the injury. "You have to learn how to use your leg again. You start slow. It was three months before I could even jog again."

Doctors: Training is crucial

With Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) basketball gaining popularity, year-round play is becoming more common.

Doctors say too much playing time and a lack of preventative measures during training increase the odds that girls will continue to endure these potentially career-ending injuries.

"In almost every sport, there are year-round leagues, and that doesn't always allow time for training," Texans physician Dr. Walter Lowe said. "If these young women don't have four to six weeks between seasons to devote to physical training, they should at least incorporate 10-15 minutes of that training in their everyday workouts."

Lowe and other leading orthopedic experts say an understanding of the problem by coaches, athletes and their parents and a commitment to proper training techniques can greatly reduce the chances of the injury.

For Scelfo, the impact has been extreme. Once an aggressive player who scored 19 points per game, her average fell to six per game before she gave up her dream to play. She recently accepted the position of team manager for Texas A&M's women's program.

"If I had only known what kind of training to be doing ahead of time, I would have," Scelfo said. "I learned so much during the rehab of my injury about how to build strength in my knee. I just wish I had done that before I hurt it."

Researchers have explored several probable causes for why women are more likely to tear an ACL. The female pelvis is wider, and girls tend be more "knock-kneed" than boys. Both of these anatomical factors contribute largely to why girls are more likely to tear their ACLs.

Also, in men, hamstring strength tends to be greater proportionally than in women. Working on hamstring strength is key for young girls planning on a basketball career.

Even a woman's hormone level can contribute to the problem because it can increase ligament laxity.

Lowe said that within the next 10 years, he hopes to see coaches everywhere utilizing preventative methods in daily athletic practices.

"We obviously can't eliminate torn ACLs — that injury will still happen — but strength training, speed training and building joint flexibility can help prevent the injury from happening," Lowe said. "Educating coaches and players and parents is the first step in preventing the injury."

Jerry Kroll, an area AAU coach and father of Julie and Kara, said education on the subject should start a lot sooner than it does now.

"In elementary school and junior high, physical education should include teaching kids, especially girls, about how to exercise properly and how to build core body strength," he said. "More physical activity at a young age would make a difference."

Several local training facilities focus on building speed, strength and agility.

"Any athlete could go into one of these places and say they are looking to work on preventative methods for ACL injuries, and there are programs that trainers can set up," Lowe said.

The situation isn't ideal, however, for those lacking time or money for a personal trainer.

"In that case, working on hamstring strength, landing properly when jumping and doing core strength training like building lower ab and hip muscles can help," Lowe said.

An ACL tear may seem temporary and fixable, but Lowe said that going through proper rehab is crucial.

"An ACL injury can affect you forever," he said. "Almost everyone who tears his or her ACL will have arthritis in that knee down the road. It's an injury you deal with for the rest of your life."

A fast-growing preventative exercise program cited by Lowe is Sportsmetrics, developed by Frank Noyes in Cincinnati. Details can be found at www.sportsmetrics.net.

"Frank's work with Sportsmetrics is great for young athletes," Lowe said. "It's a great foundation for any athlete, and I think eventually we will see it incorporated into more schools and athletic facilities."

Staying informed

In the meantime, the best thing young female athletes can do is stay informed, Lowe said.

"It's great that the level of competition in girls athletics is at a high level now," Lowe said. "Girls are dunking basketballs, running incredibly fast and all around closing the gap between what males and females can do athletically.

"But any sport can be dangerous. There is always risk for injury, and in girls there is a much higher risk for ACL damage. Staying educated and informed is important, and hopefully we'll keep the research growing and see the number of these injuries decrease."

That can't happen soon enough for Julie Kroll.

"It's such a tough injury, and it's really painful," she said. "It was really awful to have to watch two of my best friends and my sister have to go through that."

jenny.dial@chron.com

26-Jul-06 8:00 AM

Texans team physician will operate on Walker

TOM SILVERSTEIN — Sat, 01 Oct 2005 19:00:00 GMT

Green Bay - Green Bay Packers wide receiver Javon Walker has chosen Houston Texans team physician Walter Lowe to repair the torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and will undergo surgery Friday in Houston.

Walker said he decided to go with Lowe because he was part of a medical group that had operated on his right shoulder after the 2003 season. Lowe will be in charge of Walker's surgery and rehabilitation, which means the Packers will have a very limited role in overseeing his return to the football field.

Even though Walker suffered the injury in the season-opener at Detroit on Sept. 11, surgery was put off until this week because of swelling in the knee area. It is expected that Walker will need six to 10 months to recover from the surgery, and he could miss all off-season activities.

It is rare for Packers players to go outside the organization to have surgery, in part, because team physician Patrick McKenzie has such a good reputation. Since 2001, McKenzie has done about a half-dozen ACL repairs on Packers, including offensive tackle Mark Tauscher, safety Antuan Edwards and most recently linebacker Kurt Campbell.

In 1996, the year the Packers won the Super Bowl, wide receiver Robert Brooks and linebacker George Koonce both had ACLs repaired by McKenzie and came back to start again.
Among the players who have gone outside the organization to have knees operated on were tackle Brennan Curtin (2004) and linebacker Brian Williams (2000), both of whom struggled to regain their form and were eventually released. Curtin had an ACL tear and Williams had a patellar tendon rupture.

Walker will be away from the organization for the first four to six weeks after surgery because he will have to stay in Houston to be regularly monitored by Lowe. Walker's mother lives in Houston, which is probably one reason he decided to have the surgery there.
Lowe will direct his rehabilitation program and tell the Packers when Walker is cleared for football activities.

General manager Ted Thompson said the Packers had no objections to Walker seeking treatment outside of the organization and felt comfortable having Lowe perform the surgery.

Lowe has been the Texans' team physician since 2001, served as team physician for the NBA's Houston Rockets from 1993-2003 and also is team physician for the WNBA's Houston Comets. He is an associate professor of the department of orthopedic surgery at the Baylor College of Medicine and has estimated in published reports that he does 250 ACL reconstructions a year.

He has consulted on or performed knee surgeries on athletes such as Buffalo's Willis McGahee, Houston's Tony Boselli, New England's Richard Seymour and the WNBA's Sheryl Swoopes.

Walker may have been directed to Lowe by agent Drew Rosenhaus, although talk inside the Packers organization persists that Walker is no longer affiliated with Rosenhaus. Walker said this week that Rosenhaus was still his agent, but he said at this point he has no need for an agent since he's under contract through next year and there's no chance the Packers will be extending his deal until he proves he can come back from his injury.

1-Oct-05 2:00 PM

Rockets optimistic about Sura’s knee
Team discloses no rehab timetable following surgery

JONATHAN FEIGEN — Fri, 30 Sep 2005 03:00:00 GMT

Rockets guard Bob Sun on Thursday underwent what the team deemed to be successful arthroscopic knee surgery, though no estimates were made about when Sura could resume workouts.

Sura, 32, said Wednesday the condition in his right knee could be career- threatening, describing Thursday’s procedure to remove particles as the key to whether he could play again. But the Rockets were optimistic the surgery, his second since the end of the season, would correct problems.

“There were just a lot of particles left and there was a flap of cartilage in there and some little bony pieces that they took out,” Rockets trainer Keith Jones said. “They got everything cleaned up, and it’s just a matter of letting those bony surfaces heal. We just cleaned it out.

“Dr. (Walter) Lowe said he would wait until he sees him again (late next week) to put a timetable on everything. We just told Bobby it was going to be a slower rehab than we did this summer. We’re just going to take it slow and easy and when he’s ready, he’s ready.”

Jones said no other medical issues surfaced with Wednesday’s team physicals.
jonathanjezgen@chron.com

29-Sep-05 10:00 PM

Huber has a bum knee but a good heart
Cypress resident using time away to aid Katrina victims

DALE ROBERTSON — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 19:00:00 GMT

NEW YORK - Liezel Huber was at her home in Cypress on Sunday, buried in Hurricane Katrina relief work and trying desperately to pretend the U.S. Open women’s doubles final wasn’t going on without her.

“I don’t want to think about it,” she said, “because once I start to cry, I don’t know when I’ll stop.”
Five days after Huber and Cara Black won the Wimbledon championship
— Huber’s first major title — she blew out her knee in a World Team Tennis match and won’t be able to return to the tour before January at the earliest, although the Nasdaq-100 in Miami in March seems a more realistic goal. She’s still in the early stages of rehabilitation after Walt Lowe, the Texans’ orthopedic surgeon, repaired the extensive damage about a month ago.

Huber was, however, happy to hear that Lisa Raymond and Samantha
Stosur had prevailed in her stead, beating Elena Dementieva and Flavia
Penetta 6-2, 5-7, 6-3. Black and Renee Stubbs, reunited as partners with
Huber out of commission, were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Raymond
and Stosur.

Huber and Raymond are good friends, and besides that, Raymond has pledged a donation to Huber’s fledgling efforts to aid people left homeless by the storm and resulting floods. Martina Navratilova has already sent Huber $10,000. Billie Jean King and Gigi Fernandez are also on board.

Working through Copperfield Church, Huber and her husband, Tony, have
already helped move one displaced family into a new home in the Houston
area. From that grew her idea to start a foundation, Liezel’s Cause, to act as
a clearinghouse for the displaced. The Web site — www.liezelscause.com
— is up and running.

“We’re working 18-hour days,” she said, “but so many people need help. It’s really great therapy for me, under the circumstances.”

Huber said blowing out her knee has turned misfortune into a positive. The Hubers hope to personally help relocate 10 families.

Huber and Black had also reached the French Open finals and were having
such a good year that both were ranked in the top 20 on the WTA money
list when Liezel went down in a mixed doubles match in Albany, N.Y.
Previously, Huber had been through a lengthy rehab after shoulder surgery,
also done by Lowe.

12-Sep-05 2:00 PM

THE FINAL STEP TO PRESERVE A CAREER
Bagwell picks surgery
June shoulder procedure ‘last-chance option,’ but Astro hopes for ‘05 return

DAVID BARRON — Mon, 16 May 2005 19:00:00 GMT

Astros first baseman Jeff Bagwell said Sunday he will undergo an operation next month described as a “last-chance option” to repair his injured right shoulder and salvage his baseball career.
If the procedure succeeds, Bagwell hopes to play the last month of this season and return for 2006, the final year of his contract.

“I have to do it,” Bagwell said at a news conference before Sunday’s AstrosGiants game at Minute Maid Park. “It’s the only way I can continue to play this game.

“I want to play. I want to help the Houston Astros. It kills me that I can’t play now, and I think the best chance for me to play again is to do the surgery. I owe it to the Astros, and I owe it to myself to get it done.”

Bagwell, 36, was placed on the 15-day disabled list last week with what was described as a right shoulder sprain. He has played for three years with pain and arthritis in the shoulder but said, “It just got to the point now where I just can’t do it.”

Team physician Dr. David Lintner, an associate professor at Baylor College of Medicine, said the Astros and Bagwell consulted with several shoulder surgeons before Bagwell, who was batting .250 with three home runs and 15 RBIs in 24 games this season, decided to undergo an operation described as an arthroscopic capsular release.

“The unanimous opinion was that Jeff should consider this surgery only when he’s to the point when he feels he can no longer perform to his satisfaction,” Lintner said. “Given the fact he can’t play anymore now, this is the time to call it. I think this is kind of a last-chance option to salvage his playing career.”

The surgery will be performed by Dr. Richard Hawkins, a founding member of the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons and co-founder of the SteadmanHawkins Clinic, which has locations in three Colorado cities and in Spartanburg, S.C., where Bagwell’s surgery will be performed.

Hawkins, who is traveling in Europe and will be unable to perform the operation until early June, is a professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical
School in Dallas, former team physician for the Denver Broncos and medical
director for the Colorado Rockies. His former patients include John Elway, Greg
Norman, Billie Jean King, Monica Seles and Terrell Davis.

Lintner, who will assist in the operation, said surgeons will make a series of
incisions in the tissue around Bagwell’s shoulder in an effort to expand the range
of motion in the joint.

“It’s much like opening a pie crust to make it more flexible,” he said. “It allows
the shoulder to rotate more than it has in the last few years. Jeff s shoulder is
extraordinarily tight.”

Bagwell said Hawkins has performed about 200 of the procedures, which
generally take about an hour. Among athletes, Lintner said shoulder capsular
releases are performed most commonly among weightlifters and football players.
Bagwell said he hopes to regain 80 percent of the range of motion in his right shoulder. But he said he is prepared that his career might be over.

“There’s a chance I could be back up here and talking about how I can’t do it again,” he said. “Have I gone through that in my mind? Yes.”

Dr. Walt Lowe, an associate professor of sports medicine at Baylor and the Texans’ team physician, said the procedure is similar to the one performed on former Texans offensive lineman Tony Boselli, who was unable to return to football after the operation but was able to resume golf and other normal activities.

“There’s no question it will give (Bagwell) better movement in his shoulder,” Lowe said. “But the question is whether it will bring enough relief from the pain to play baseball.”

Lowe described the normal recovery time as four to six months but said some patients have recovered as early as three months after surgery.

Sports medicine is filled with unique procedures that have revived careers, most notably the elbow ligament reconstruction procedure known as Tommy John surgery. As one of the most prominent athletes to undergo a capsular release, perhaps Bagwell has a chance to enter the books as the namesake of Jeff Bagwell surgery.

“It could be,” said Astros general manager Tim Purpura, smiling thinly. “If it works, it will be.”

Chronicle staff writer Eric Berger contributed to this report.

16-May-05 2:00 PM