Orthopedics and Sports Medicine
Aiming to Get Back in the Game
Shavar Champagnie began playing soccer at age four. As a three-season athlete at Nauset Regional High School on Cape Cod, sports remained an important part of his life as an adolescent. His more recent experience following a college soccer season-ending knee injury has further amplified his appreciation for athletic competition.
Champagnie is a junior, majoring in coaching at Dean College in Franklin. He recalls the exact play when he tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and injured his meniscus – an attempt to save the ball from going out of bounds during a Nov. 2, 2021 home
game vs. Lasell College.
“My injury has been life-changing, as it has shown me how much I love the game,” he said. “It has been tough for me,” said Champagnie, a starting midfielder and striker, who had several assists and one goal despite his season being cut short after only 10 games. The 2021 season was Champagnie’s first year of collegiate play, as the Fall 2020 season (his freshman year) was cancelled due to COVID-19.
Milford Regional Provides Coordinated Treatment
Sports medicine and primary care physician Kevin Jillson, MD, is the team physician for all athletic teams at Dean College. He also practices at the recently opened Milford Regional Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Center at 98 Prospect Street in Milford.
The benefit of the center for patients like Champagnie, is that it brings together sports medicine and orthopedic surgery into one practice, offering enhanced collaboration between these two medical and surgical specialties.
“Originally, Shavar’s injury presented more like an isolated MCL [medial collateral ligament] injury. But, further evaluation and an MRI helped diagnose a torn ACL and a meniscus injury,” said Dr. Jillson, who referred Champagnie to his colleague Michael Vazquez, MD – a sports medicine fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon – when it was determined that treatment may involve surgery.
“An ACL injury is common, especially for Shavar’s sport and his age,” said Dr. Jillson, who explained that the nearly 400,000 ACL injuries that occur annually account for one-half of knee injuries that require surgery. “ACL is the stabilizing ligament in the knee and a key requirement when playing sports that require a ‘cutting’ or ‘pivoting’ motion of the knee,” explained Dr. Jillson.
Surgery v. Non-surgical Treatment
“When evaluating and guiding patients through their treatment options, a lot of factors need to be considered to determine if surgery is the right solution,” said Dr. Vazquez, who cites activity level, symptoms and the lifestyle one intends to return to after the injury, as such factors. Most of Dr. Vazquez’s patients prefer to reconstruct their ACL when torn, but there are some patients who prefer non-surgical treatment given their intended activity following injury.
In addition to the ACL repair, Dr. Vazquez also performed a partial meniscectomy (when the injured portion of meniscus is “trimmed out” vs. “stitched”).
According to Dr. Vazquez, given Champagnie’s goal to return to collegiate-level soccer, the ACL surgical repair and reconstruction was the prudent solution.
Looking Ahead
Since his Jan. 4 surgery, Champagnie has been healing well. “I was walking sooner than expected following the surgery. My body reacted better than we thought,” said Champagnie, who knows that there is still a high probability that he will be sitting out the full Fall 2022 soccer season due to the injury.
According to Dr. Vazquez, a full recovery from an ACL/meniscus surgery like Champagnie’s can take between nine and 12 months. He also explains that the first one to two years following injury are critical. “If you stay away from re-injuring the knee within that two-year window, patients’ chances of avoiding a re-injury overall increase significantly,” said Dr. Vazquez.
At a July 19 follow-up visit with both Drs. Jillson and Vazquez, Champagnie’s progress was assessed as good, but both doctors wanted to see more muscle strength in Champagnie’s injured leg. More physical therapy and exercises at home will help build that up.
Regarding sitting out the 2022 season if suggested by his Milford Regional physicians and Dean College athletic trainers, Champagnie explains, “I would be heartbroken, but it would be what is best for me. And, I do not want to do it all over again.”
Champagnie more realistically looks forward to returning to play in Fall 2023 for his senior year at Dean. Until then, he’ll continue to attend practices and games to observe and learn from his coaches and teammates, as Milford Regional’s Drs. Jillson and Vazquez help with the game plan to get him get back on the field.
