Ryun Ulrich's Story

Comments: I fully ruptured my left major pectoralis muscle (both sternal and clavicular heads) back in July of 2020 and was dealing with a profound weakness and a feeling of shoulder instability. My arm would get very tired doing simple activities and I had a significant deformity in my left chest wall and axilla (armpit). I was initially told that there was not much that can be done for this type of injury. This was until I met Dr. Kevin Shepet at Bellin Health Orthopedics. He was very knowledgeable with this type of injury and shared with me all treatment options. He had a very neutral approach to this type of injury and showed me several case studies to help me make my own informed decision because this is a relatively rare injury with not a ton of data. However, I had a great amount of confidence in Dr. Shepet’s ability and decided to move forward with surgical repair. Dr. Shepet successfully performed a very complex chronic left major pectoralis repair in December of 2020 and I was treated like a VIP patient! He was able to fully mobilize my retracted pectoral muscle and pull it all the way back to the humerus (arm bone). An acellular dermal allograft was used to provide superior strength of the repair to aid in tendon healing. I am now 12 weeks post-surgery and the repair looks and feels great. My chest looks like it never happened! It has healed very nicely, and I have now entered the strengthening phase of my recovery. If anyone reading this suspects they have a torn pectoralis major muscle or any other muscle/joint injury, I HIGHLY recommend meeting with Dr. Kevin Shepet. He is a great orthopedic surgeon and will do a fantastic job helping you get back to what you love doing. Thank You Dr. Shepet! I am forever grateful for how you have helped me.