Mercy Clinic Orthopedics
100 Mercy Way, Suite 430
417.556.2278
www.mercy.net/practice/mercy-clinic-orthopedics-joplin
Mercy Orthopedic Surgeon Offers Expert, Compassionate Care
Mercy Clinic Orthopedics provides the highest quality in specialized care for a variety of musculoskeletal disorders and injuries.
Orthopedic surgeon Dr. David Eisenhauer specializes in surgeries of the shoulder, elbow and hand.
“One of the most common issues I see is shoulder pain, of which the majority is related to rotator cuff pain and associated syndromes, with a smaller percentage of shoulder pain due to arthritis. That probably accounts for well over half of my practice. The balance is upper extremity, elbow, hand and wrist pain to include: tennis elbow, hand/wrist and elbow arthritis, tendonitis, trigger finger and carpal tunnel syndrome, just to name a few.”
Dr. Eisenhauer also performs surgeries related to sports injuries. In fact, his own sports injury in college is what sparked his interest in orthopedics.
“Looking back, the elbow injury that seemed so devastating to me at the time ended up being a turning point in my life that led me down the path of medicine and orthopedic surgery,” he said. “I love my job and I love what I do. To give someone the ability to lift their shoulder over their head when they haven’t been able to do that for five or six years is really rewarding, or to do a 10-minute surgery and give someone feeling back in their hand after having carpal tunnel syndrome for a period of time is a very gratifying thing to both me and the patient.”
Dr. Eisenhauer prides himself on taking a conservative approach to surgery.
“Even though I’m a surgeon and I love to operate, surgery is typically the last resort,” he said. “I’m going to do everything I can to treat a patient conservatively. There is a whole spectrum of things that can be done short of surgery, such as physical therapy, steroid injections, anti-inflammatory pills and home exercises that can make patients better. I like to give patients choices and allow them to participate in their care but want to make sure they are making informed choices.”