James Gladstone, MD, and Alexis Chiang Colvin, MD
Mount Sinai physicians, led by top orthopaedists and radiologists, were courtside at the US Open to help diagnose and treat the professional athletes in need of medical attention during the recent tournament held in Flushing Meadows, Queens. Physicians also were interviewed for their expertise in injury prevention and other topics of interest to the professional—and amateur—athlete, all efforts that showcased Mount Sinai’s position as the official medical services provider for the tennis tournament, the United States Tennis Association (USTA), and the US Davis Cup and US Fed Cup teams.
“The USTA and Mount Sinai share the common goals of promoting tennis as healthy exercise, preventing injury, and ensuring that injured athletes receive the highest quality of treatment at the US Open and year round,” says Alexis Chiang Colvin, MD, who serves as chief medical officer of the USTA, the team physician for the US Fed Cup team, and a physician at the US Open. Dr. Colvin is Associate Professor of Sports Medicine in the Leni and Peter W. May Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at The Mount Sinai Hospital.
Mount Sinai radiologists at the US Open, from left: Darren Fitzpatrick, MD, Director of Musculoskeletal Imaging Procedures; Carlos L. Benitez, MD, Director of Musculoskeletal Imaging, Mount Sinai Roosevelt and Mount Sinai St. Luke’s; Alex Maderazo, MD, Director of Musculoskeletal Radiology, The Mount Sinai Hospital; and Alexander Kagen, MD, Site Chair, Department of Radiology, Mount Sinai Roosevelt and Mount Sinai St. Luke’s.
Dr. Colvin, along with James Gladstone, MD, and Melissa Leber, MD, who are both consultants to the US Open, were responsible for treating the athletes’ injuries. For the 2015 tournament, that included heat-related conditions, colds and viruses, gastrointestinal complaints, and musculoskeletal issues, such as strains, sprains, and tendonitis. Dr. Gladstone, medical advisor to the US Davis Cup team, is Co-Chief of Sports Medicine at The Mount Sinai Hospital, and Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Dr. Leber is Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, and Emergency Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Says Dr. Gladstone, “Caring for professional tennis players at the US Open provides our physicians with unique insights into how to better treat the amateur players we see year round.”
For the first time, the physicians were joined this year by Mount Sinai radiologists, led by Carlos L. Benitez, MD, Director of Musculoskeletal Imaging at Mount Sinai Roosevelt and Mount Sinai St. Luke’s, who used a portable, high-resolution ultrasound device made by GE Healthcare to provide quick diagnoses of muscle, tendon, and joint injuries among the players. “During the two-week tournament, we scanned multiple joints and extremities on several players who had sustained recent injuries. All of our work proved to be very useful to the orthopaedic and sports medicine doctors who needed to make quick decisions on how to treat and advise the players,” says Dr. Benitez.
More than 70 staff also volunteered at a Mount Sinai booth, handing out material on Mount Sinai’s sports medicine programs and tips for skin cancer prevention, and providing patrons with free sunscreen—six gallons worth—and 9,000 UV indicator wristbands.
Additionally, several physicians were interviewed by USTA host Mara Montalbano for their expertise on sports-related health topics. The interviews were part of the US Open Health Desk, an online program available on the USTA website and Mount Sinai’s YouTube channel.