Palm Springs woman continues to thrive nearly two decades after receiving limb-saving surgery

Nancy Gutierrez arrived to the emergency room in September 2007 after a bad fall crushed her arm. Her arm was shattered from shoulder to elbow, the emergency doctors said that they had never encountered a break so severe.

82-year-old Gutierrez was then sent to Loma Linda University Health where she was treated by Wesley Phipatanakul, MD, an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in shoulder problems.

“And he fixed me. He did a reversal, and then I had four breaks and he essentially put them together and I have titanium water wire in it. And he's a miracle man," said Gutierrez.

With over two-thirds of her arm shattered, she received reconstructive surgery, involving reverse total shoulder replacement –– a procedure that reverses the normal structure of the shoulder joint, using the deltoid muscle instead of the rotator cuff to improve shoulder function.

Eisenhower Health referred Gutierrez to Dr.Phipatanakul, but her fix wasn’t a straightforward solution.

"He said if we can wait a week for the swelling to go down, I would have more success in operating. And so I'm going to build you a special sling. And it was the Olympics. So I was fortunate enough when I came home, I could just sit," explained Gutierrez.

Her arm bones healed perfectly in the months that followed the surgery, and her positive experience with Dr. Phipatanakul led to a lasting friendship. Gutierrez has also referred the department to many of her friends for shoulder replacements.

Years after her surgery, Gutierrez continues to do well and carries on her hobby of collecting Southwest art.