HeartBeat

STORY BY SHELLEY FLANNERY
PHOTOS BY GARY MATOSO
Most people with labral tears
of the hip have contact sports
like football or hockey to thank for their
troubles. Not Frank Slak.
“Mine wasn’t from anything as cool
as that,” Slak says. “It was more of a
Lemony Snicket situation—a series of
unfortunate events.”
The former Gonzaga University professor
says the pain started in spring 2015
and worsened quickly. So quickly, in fact,
that he had to miss the last two weeks of
the semester.
“I used to stand and move around
the room a lot during my lectures,” the
68-year-old says. “I would start to turn
or pivot and the pain was just excruciating.
The pain got progressively worse, to the
point where I could barely walk.”
Slak’s physical therapist friend set him up
with orthopedic surgeon Bryan S. Mitchell,
M.D., who provided a diagnosis.
“I got an MRI that revealed not only a
labral tear, but also two growths on top of
my femur that had been wearing through the
labrum, causing bone-on-bone action,” he
says. “They’re not caused by anything specific.
Some people are just lucky enough to
have those growths, and I’m one of them.”
The treatment options were cortisone
injections, which last about 30 days per dose,
or surgery. Slak opted to have one cortisone
Frank Slak’s hip
was so painful that
he could hardly
walk. After outpatient
surgery followed by
rehabilitation, he’s
back to doing the
activities he loves.
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