Pressure to Perform
With players being paid millions of dollars to perform on the field, otolaryngologists acknowledge there can be at least implicit pressure to get players back on the field quickly, although not nearly as much as orthopedic surgeons face in treating injuries such as, say, Achilles tendon tears or knee injuries. But they say they have to stay mindful of their obligation to the health of the person in front of them.
Explore This Issue
April 2019“As physicians, the key to remember is the patient is your first priority and then, as long as you remember that, you do what’s best for the patient and counsel them appropriately,” Dr. Larsen said. “Should they choose to do something outside of your guidelines or your recommendation, it’s only going to potentially be fraught with complications or problems…. What I know for a fact working with the Kansas City Royals is that it’s a team approach. The athletic trainers, physical therapists, physicians, and surgeons really work together as a team, and there’s constant communication, because at the end of the day, the investment is in the player and their future. Bringing them back too soon, or rushing them back to the field, is not always going to be in their best long-term interest.”
Sometimes, there can be conflicts of interest for a physician. “Somebody else is paying [the athletes] a lot of money to perform, and every time they are injured, they are not performing,” Dr. Kearney said. “And that is an issue for the team; it can be a competitive issue, it can be a financial issue. So there can be some conflicts of interest that come in particularly for physicians who are being
compensated by the team…. There can be a conflict in that they are being paid by the team that wants the athlete back on the field, but your obligation to the athlete is to provide what is best for them.”
While most otolaryngologists downplay the pressures they feel taking care of these athletes, they say there is a certain amount of pressure performing surgery on a player. “You treat every patient the same, and to say differently I don’t think is right,” Dr. Larsen said. “The flip side to that is, sure, you’re a little extra amped up that morning.”
Dr. Jones said surgeries are the most difficult scenarios he faces when treating pro athletes or celebrities. “In general, we want good outcomes, and sometimes if you have a high-profile player, it’s not that you would do anything differently, but the potential for, let’s say, good or bad publicity just magnifies itself,” he said. “In the era of social media, it’s easy for a routine or non-routine outcome to really be publicized.”