YCH Offers Advanced Sports Medicine

YCH offers advanced sports medicine

Yorkregion.com, February 21, 2012

This story appeared in the latest Heartbeat of our Community

From weekend warriors to national competitors, injured athletes of all stripes are referred to Dr. Robert Wang, an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in sports medicine and arthroscopic surgery.

Dr. Wang completed his surgical residency at the University of Toronto before heading to the United States for training in sports medicine and arthroscopic surgery. He then returned home to the GTA and joined the orthopedic surgery department at York Central Hospital in 2008.

Because of York Region’s growing population, Dr. Wang was able to quickly build a practice focusing on his specialties, which include arthroscopic surgery. Arthroscopy is part of a general trend in surgery towards minimally invasive procedures. An arthroscope (a long, thin tube with a light and video camera) is inserted through a small incision into the interior of a joint to evaluate an injury; small surgical instruments can be inserted through a second incision to repair damage.

The advantages to this type of surgery versus traditional open surgery include shorter hospital stays, reduced scarring, less pain and faster healing. The latter can be particularly important to competitive athletes who want to get back in the game sooner.

Dr. Wang largely treats injuries to the shoulder, such as rotator cuff tears, dislocations or joint separations, and knee, including ligament tears, and injuries to the meniscus and cartilage. They can result from long-term wear and tear (such as a knee injury caused by decades of long-distance running) or traumatic injury (such as a dislocated shoulder resulting from a football tackle).

“A large percentage of my practice is treating athletes,” he says, adding they range in age from young adult on up and cover the whole spectrum of sport from recreational to competitive. “These are people who enjoy working out to stay fit and healthy.”

Dr. Wang recommends non-surgical treatment, which can include rest, physiotherapy and bracing, which is the starting point for many sports related injuries. For certain injuries or when non-surgical options have failed, he recommends surgery.

Pam Richards, manager of perioperative and surgical ambulatory services at

York Central, says demand for arthroscopy is growing, and to have a surgeon with Dr. Wang’s training at York Central is good for the hospital and its patients. “He has more specialized training than most sports medicine surgeons in Canada,” she says. “He uses the latest technology and ensures he stays at the forefront of the most current techniques and best practices.”

For example, Dr. Wang was one of only three North American surgeons chosen by the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine to participate in a training fellowship to Asia last fall. He visited the Philippines, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand to meet, observe and share ideas with surgeons there.