Philip Picott

As a successfully driven athlete and business professional, I have been physically active my entire life. Whether I am participating in a game of competitive level tennis as a formerly sponsored tennis player, trekking a 60-mile long bike ride along the Pacific Coast, or simply enjoying a Southern California all-day sports adventure with snow skiing in the morning, golf in the afternoon, and a jog along the beach during the evening, I don't particularly enjoy just sitting around.

One day while taking a short walk, I felt a sharp pain in my leg, which sidelined me for the very first time ever. This inexplicable leg pain made it virtually impossible for me to walk, bend, stand, sit, or even lie down in order to sleep. My first physician diagnosed my leg pain as severe bone-on-bone arthritis, which involved my left hip. While I had once worked as a Surgical Marketing Executive for Johnson & Johnson, I still felt very apprehensive to undergo surgery, since I had always been healthy and never hospitalized. I was referred to an orthopaedic surgeon in New England, who coincidentally completed his residency training at HSS.

On November 18, 2008, two years after first being diagnosed, I underwent a Birmingham Hip Resurfacing (BHR) procedure. Several months after successful surgery, I continued to feel pain and stiffness. I was later diagnosed with a rare orthopaedic complication known as Ectopic Bone Formation, or Heterotopic Ossification (HO), which is an unexplained bone growth abnormality that is present in less than 1% of all hip surgery patients worldwide. Faced with the need for a second surgery to remove the excess bone growth from my post-operative hip, I was referred to Dr. Edwin Su at HSS and was introduced to HSS' Coast to Coast (C2C) Program for Traveling Patients. On September 25, 2012, I underwent the very first successfully known surgical case of its kind that Dr. Su has performed as he safely removed 12 ounces of bone growth, while also sparing the use of my hip implant. Radiation treatment followed to ensure that this healthy bone growth would not return. I sincerely appreciate the professional help and expertise of Dr. Su and the entire medical team at Hospital for Special Surgery as my health is back to normal. I am now ready and able to resume my climb back on top, while enjoying physical activities at both work and play without pain or physical restriction.

*Photos By: Andrzej Kentla/U.S. Open Tennis Championships - USTA*

October 29, 2019:

After having undergone successful Hip Revision Surgery at HSS with Dr. Edwin P. Su back on September 25, 2012, there was absolutely no question in my mind as to where I should go in order to receive expert evaluation and treatment for severe pain that developed in my left shoulder in August 2017.

On December 12, 2017, I had the distinct pleasure and great fortune of meeting Dr. Lawrence V. Gulotta at HSS Westchesters. Dr. Gulotta immediately diagnosed me in having a torn rotator cuff, which was attributed to a bone spur that more than likely developed from a rare condition called Heterotopic Ossification (HO) or otherwise known as Ectopic Bone. This was the very same orthopedic condition that required me to have surgery on my hip.

On January 18, 2018, I traveled from my new home in Bradenton, FL to HSS in NYC to undergo Rotator Cuff Surgery, along with Subacromial Decompression Surgery in order to eliminate the bone spur. Dr. Gulotta, his Physician Assistant Daniela Lacara, and his office staff Adena, Branden, and Sue performed excellently in helping me to return back to better health. After successful shoulder surgery, I returned home to Florida two days later and began my physical therapy at the prestigious IMG Academy and Gatorade Sports Performance Center in Bradenton, FL.

Thanks to HSS and Dr. Gulotta, I am able to enjoy an active life and my sports photography without shoulder pain.