Scar Tissue

Nick Johnson said a MRI on his sprained right wrist showed only scar tissue, meaning there is no new damage to a wrist he has injured multiple times. “Nothing torn or any of that stuff,” said Johnson, who hurt the wrist on a swing Wednesday. “So that's a pretty good sign.” Johnson said he will have to wear a brace for at least seven days and then be re-evaluated. He doesn't know a specific timeline for a return yet. “Keep this brace on for a week, take some pills and we'll see how it goes in a week,” he said.

I heard on the radio this week about the surgery schedules for the Ravens' Ray Lewis and Lardarius Webb, who were both injured this past weekend ("Lewis on IR; return a hope," Oct. 18). I understand that pro athletes deserve good health care, but how about our kids? My daughter tore her ACL last spring while playing soccer. I followed our health insurance guidelines and took her to be x-rayed at a local Patient First. After being x-rayed, I had to take her to her pediatrician to get a referral to see an orthopedic surgeon.

NEW YORK - Former President Bill Clinton will undergo surgery this week to remove fluid and scar tissue from his chest cavity, a rare complication resulting from his heart bypass surgery six months ago, his doctors said yesterday. Clinton, 58, is scheduled for surgery tomorrow at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center and is expected to remain hospitalized three to 10 days. "This is an elective process," Dr. Allan Schwartz, chief of the hospital's cardiology department, said at a news conference.

On a night when the Orioles regained a share of first place in the American League East, another humongous win was overshadowed by another scary injury. Three nights after the Orioles lost right fielder Nick Markakis for the rest of the regular season, right-hander Jason Hammel limped off the mound in the fourth inning of Tuesday night's 9-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. Hammel, who was making his second start since missing nearly eight weeks after arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, left the game after feeling the same piercing pain in the same knee.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Orioles reliever John Bale, trying to make the 25-man roster as a third left-hander in the bullpen, will have a magnetic resonance imaging test today to determine the cause of elbow soreness that has kept him from pitching the past four days. Bale was examined yesterday at Holy Cross Hospital in Fort Lauderdale, where doctors performed an arthrogram. Dye was injected into the elbow to detect a possible fracture or bone fragments. "Everything was normal. I think it's just some inflammation," said Bale, 27, who had surgery after the 2001 season to remove a band of tissue in the elbow that was causing discomfort and limiting his appearances with the Orioles.

BOSTON -- Cardiac pacemakers save countless lives by prompting balky hearts to beat regularly. It's not a big deal to implant one: The device and its battery slide into a pocket made under the skin of the chest, and the attached electrical lead, a thin metal wire, is threaded through a blood vessel into the heart, where its tip lodges in the muscle.But when a pacemaker lead has to be removed -- because of infection, scarring, breakage or some other reason, it's a different story. After a few years in the body, the wires can become virtually glued in place as scar tissue builds up around the wire inside the artery.

BOSTON -- The Massachusetts state medical examiner's office confirmed yesterday that Reggie Lewis, who died last week of cardiac arrest, had extensive scar tissue in his heart, a finding other specialists said is consistent with the potentially serious heart defect diag- nosed by two of the three medical teams that Lewis had consulted.The Boston Celtics captain collapsed while shooting baskets at a Brandeis University gym July 27 and was pronounced dead 2 1/2 hours later at Waltham/Weston Hospital.

Rob Alford, veteran heart patient, became a pioneer last week when tiny tubes were threaded into his clogged arteries. Doctors believe the devices could transform cardiac medicine. On Thursday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a new drug-coated stent that keeps scar tissue from choking newly unclogged arteries. The next day, Alford, a 50-year-old Bel Air resident, became one of the first patients in the country outside a clinical trial to get the new treatment. "This is the hottest thing in cardiology in years," said Dr. Mark Midei, the St. Joseph Medical Center physician who treated Alford.

Orioles Gold Glove right fielder Nick Markakis, who has been bothered for months by what he initially thought was a deep bone bruise near his abdomen, had surgery Thursday to repair an abductor muscle and his rectus abdominis, also known as the “six-pack” muscle. Despite the extensive muscle damage, Markakis hopes to play in exhibition games by mid-to-late March and expects to be ready for Opening Day, April 6 at Camden Yards against the Minnesota Twins. He has already spoken to manager Buck Showalter about a potential plan that will ease him into spring training, which begins in earnest with the exhibition opener March 5. “Spring training is what it is. I think if I get two solid weeks in at the end of games, I'll be fine,” Markakis said.

The planned return of Maryland junior tailback Bruce Perry on Saturday against Wofford was thrown into question yesterday, after Perry fell awkwardly while catching a pass, then left the workout early. Terps coach Ralph Friedgen said Perry, the Atlantic Coast Conference Offensive Player of the Year in 2001 who has yet to play this season while recovering from a torn groin muscle, will be re-evaluated today. "The immediate diagnosis wasn't a major concern. The doctor thinks it's some scar tissue," Friedgen said.

What the Orioles don't need right now, especially after losing right fielder Nick Markakis (broken left thumb) for the rest of the regular season, is another injury. That's what they've got, though, and it's to another key contributor. Right-handed starter Jason Hammel, who returned Thursday after missing nearly eight weeks due to right knee surgery, left in Tuesday's fourth inning with a right knee injury . Not only is it the same knee, it's the same pain, Hammel said.

Nick Johnson said a MRI on his sprained right wrist showed only scar tissue, meaning there is no new damage to a wrist he has injured multiple times. “Nothing torn or any of that stuff,” said Johnson, who hurt the wrist on a swing Wednesday. “So that's a pretty good sign.” Johnson said he will have to wear a brace for at least seven days and then be re-evaluated. He doesn't know a specific timeline for a return yet. “Keep this brace on for a week, take some pills and we'll see how it goes in a week,” he said.

Orioles Gold Glove right fielder Nick Markakis, who has been bothered for months by what he initially thought was a deep bone bruise near his abdomen, had surgery Thursday to repair an abductor muscle and his rectus abdominis, also known as the “six-pack” muscle. Despite the extensive muscle damage, Markakis hopes to play in exhibition games by mid-to-late March and expects to be ready for Opening Day, April 6 at Camden Yards against the Minnesota Twins. He has already spoken to manager Buck Showalter about a potential plan that will ease him into spring training, which begins in earnest with the exhibition opener March 5. “Spring training is what it is. I think if I get two solid weeks in at the end of games, I'll be fine,” Markakis said.

At the end of practice on most days, Navy sophomore kicker Jon Teague lines up for a pair of field goals as the rest of his teammates gather around and scream. "It may not seem like the ideal conditions, but that's exactly what I want. It's going to be multiplied by 1,000 once we get into the Horseshoe," Teague said last week in reference to the the season opener at Ohio State on Sept. 5. "Anything that's game-like, I want them to re-create that." Teague is taking part in what is a wide-open competition for kicking duties, along with junior Joe Buckley and freshman Scott Blasinsky.

From the pickup basketball player to the motivated marathoner, all who exercise can suffer the agony of the feet. Here are the most common injuries: Plantar fasciitis Any activity that involves jumping, plus sudden stops and starts, can lead to plantar fasciitis. This overstretching of the ligament that runs from the heel to the ball of the foot, straight through the arch, affects about 14 percent of men and women ages 18 to 60, according to the American Podiatric Medical Association.

The physical examination Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve McNair underwent last night to consummate a trade to the Ravens might be a mere formality. But medical personnel who examine the 33-year-old veteran - who's likely to become the Ravens' starter - will be evaluating one of the NFL's most often-injured stars, whose catalog of serious injuries took up a full page in the Titans' 2005 media guide - and that doesn't count a couple more last season. Name a body part and McNair probably has sprained, strained, torn, dislocated, bruised or ruptured it. There's also a good chance that he has had it surgically repaired.

What the Orioles don't need right now, especially after losing right fielder Nick Markakis (broken left thumb) for the rest of the regular season, is another injury. That's what they've got, though, and it's to another key contributor. Right-handed starter Jason Hammel, who returned Thursday after missing nearly eight weeks due to right knee surgery, left in Tuesday's fourth inning with a right knee injury . Not only is it the same knee, it's the same pain, Hammel said.

Developed in 1981 by Atlanta plastic surgeon Carl Hartrampf, the TRAM-flap procedure for breast reconstruction tunnels tissue and muscle from the patient's abdomen beneath the skin to the chest to construct a new breast mound. Subsequent outpatient surgery creates a nipple and areola, the pigmented area around the nipple.The benefits of the TRAM-flap procedure (the acronym stands for transverse rectus abdominus muscle) include gaining a breast that feels and moves naturally and adjusts itself to the body's weight loss or weight gain.

BOSTON - This has got to break the record for the fastest transition from science to sitcom. The hearings on silicone implants for cosmetic surgery closed with a split decision Wednesday. An advisory panel rejected one brand, approved another and dropped the whole issue into the lap of the Food and Drug Administration. For three days, dozens of women had testified that silicone implants had either ruined their lives or restored their self-worth. At one point, a woman with implants nearly got into a fight with a group of women wearing T-shirts that read: "100 Percent Natural."

NEW YORK - Former President Bill Clinton will undergo surgery this week to remove fluid and scar tissue from his chest cavity, a rare complication resulting from his heart bypass surgery six months ago, his doctors said yesterday. Clinton, 58, is scheduled for surgery tomorrow at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center and is expected to remain hospitalized three to 10 days. "This is an elective process," Dr. Allan Schwartz, chief of the hospital's cardiology department, said at a news conference.