January 2010

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Ever get talked into skiing or snowboarding a hill that's beyond your skill level—and live to regret it? That's how Janis completely tore the ACL in her right knee last January.

“I was in Breckenridge, Colorado with my husband and friends when they said, ‘Let's go on this lift,’” she recalls. “I assumed there would be a green (beginner) run, but there were only blue (more advanced) runs. They told me, ‘Oh, you'll be fine,’ but I came to a really steep part, lost control and fell pretty hard. My knee went under me and I hit my head. I was lying in a pile on the slope.”

‘You've completely torn your ACL’

“The ski patrol saw me and came over,” Janis recalls. “When I tried to get up, my right knee buckled to the side. I thought, ‘That's really odd,’ but the ski patrol knew right away that my ACL was completely torn. I didn't even know what an ACL was!

“At the emergency station, they put a knee brace on me and said I'd need to see an orthopedic surgeon when I got back home,” she says. “A physician friend recommended Dr. Robert Zanotti.”

We'll see you in our Open Cast Room—
with or without an appointment

“Whenever you have an acute injury or broken bone, we can see you the next day, Monday through Friday, in our Open Cast Room,” says Dr. Zanotti. “You can schedule an appointment online to help save time in the waiting room, or come in on a walk-in basis. No ER referral is required, and you can be seen pending insurance verification.

“We will evaluate your ski injury,” says Dr. Zanotti. “You'll usually have an MRI within a week and we'll determine what we need to do. It might be a matter of rehab and bracing. Or you may need minimally invasive surgery like an arthroscopy, where we repair or clean up a torn cartilage.

“We are one of the few orthopedic practices in the U.S. to offer all-arthroscopic ACL reconstruction,” Dr. Zanotti explains. “

Sometimes, a ski injury can require more extensive reconstructive surgery. Our goal is to get you back to full skiing without any restrictions—and usually without a brace.”

‘They got me in right away’

Janis visited the Open Cast Room as soon as she returned from Breckenridge. “Dr. Zanotti agreed I'd torn my ACL and did an MRI to confirm it,” she recalls.

“I had surgery on March 6, started physical therapy the next day—and now I'm back to running three miles every other day,” says Janis.

Robert Zanotti, MD

Are skiers and snowboarders prone to the same types of injuries?

No. We see about 80% knee injuries in skiers and 20% upper-extremity injuries. In snowboarders, it’s just the opposite. Because snowboarders use their hands rather than ski poles, they're much more likely to break their wrists—the distal radius—than skiers are.

For an appointment, call 440.329.2800.

Our Open Cast Room now is available at all 3 locations:
Sheffield Village, Westlake and Oberlin

Due to the popularity of our Open Cast Room, we have expanded it from our Sheffield Village office to all three of our locations.

What are the Open Cast Room's hours?

When you schedule your appointment through our online Fast Track, you can also complete and submit your forms securely through our web site—saving you even more time in the office.

Does booking an appointment online mean I won't have to wait?

No. We wish we could guarantee you little or no wait time—but scheduling an Open Cast Room appointment online will help minimize your wait time. There are still walk-in patients in the Open Cast Room and we will continue to see them.

What we can promise is that if you book an Open Cast Room appointment through our online Fast Track, you will be given preferential treatment when you get to our office.

Questions? Call 440.329.2800