“There was never any question as to where I was going to take Alice when she got hurt,” said Stacy Shelton.
Her daughter, 13-year-old Alice Reno, dislocated and injured her knee playing volleyball in August 2019 and underwent knee surgery at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.
“They have taken such good care of us,” Stacy added, “and I just loved that the team at Children’s understood how badly Alice wanted to get back on the court after her knee injury, but also made sure she healed correctly for the long term.”
It’s only been a little over a year since Alice started playing volleyball, but the eighth-grader has fallen in love with the sport. She attended every camp she could this past summer and practiced as often as possible. So, when she tried out for her middle school team this summer, it wasn’t really a surprise when she made the team.
“I didn’t really have anything I loved to do until I found volleyball,” Alice said. “I put all my energy into it.”
“I just loved that the team at Children’s understood how badly Alice wanted to get back on the court, but also made sure she healed correctly for the long term.”–Stacy Shelton, Alice’s mom
But during her first practice with her new team, she dove for a ball and hurt her right knee. “When I tried to get up, I couldn’t,” Alice said. “The pain was just so bad and my kneecap was throbbing.”
Stacy picked Alice up from practice early and there was no doubt in her mind where she was going to take her daughter for care—Children’s.
Initial X-rays indicated that Alice didn’t break anything, but Crystal Perkins, MD, a Sports Medicine Orthopedic Surgeon at Children’s, knew exactly what was wrong.
“Alice had a patellar dislocation that resulted in an injury to the cartilage in her kneecap,” explained Dr. Perkins, who added that the most common knee injuries in teens like Alice who have a traumatic injury and swelling are kneecap dislocations and ligament tears. “I see both of these injuries on a daily basis.”
In late August, Alice had a surgical procedure known as knee arthroscopy, in which Dr. Perkins removed a piece of injured bone and cartilage and treated the area of the injury on her kneecap.
“I felt comfortable about her having surgery at Children’s,” Stacy said. “I had confidence in the care she was getting and in Dr. Perkins. I really felt like Alice was in the best hands she could be in.”
“Our team is committed to providing the highest-quality, evidence-based treatment for shoulder, elbow, hip, knee and ankle injuries.”–Crystal Perkins, MD, Sports Medicine Orthopedic Surgeon
Alice went home on the same day as her surgery. She was on crutches for a few weeks afterward, then was required to wear an immobility brace for an additional four weeks.
"Alice began sports physical therapy about two days after surgery and will continue for about three to four months,” Dr. Perkins said. “She should be ready to return to volleyball approximately four months after her surgery.”
Alice has sports physical therapy twice a week at Children’s at North Druid Hills in Atlanta. “I love my physical therapist so much,” she said, “so I’m always really excited to go.”
Finding comfort in the sports medicine and orthopedics team at Children’s like Alice did is why it’s important that a child or teen is cared for by sports medicine surgeons, primary care physicians, physical therapists and athletic trainers who have committed their careers to treating growing athletes and their unique injuries.
“Our team is committed to providing the highest-quality, evidence-based treatment for shoulder, elbow, hip, knee and ankle injuries,” added Dr. Perkins. “And I’ve enjoyed taking care of Alice and getting to know her family. Injuries that take young athletes out of their sport are challenging, but Alice has faced the challenge with grace and will make an excellent recovery.”
Crystal Perkins, MD, is a Sports Medicine Orthopedic Surgeon specializing in the treatment of sports and traumatic injuries in children, teens and young adults. She specializes in the care of hips, knees, ankles, shoulders and elbows. Dr. Perkins is committed to improving patient care and advancing medicine through quality and outcomes research. She is a member of several multicenter study groups and has numerous publications. Dr. Perkins is also a consulting associate for the Duke Department of Orthopaedic Surgery.
