Hanshaw on long road back following shoulder surgery

Doctors hope to have the Warren native in the ring by February, 2004.
By BOB ROTH
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
MASSILLON -- Winning a world boxing championship has been Tony Hanshaw's dream as long as the 25-year-old can remember. What he also remembers is the dream was almost shattered when his father was killed in an industrial accident.
Now, recovering from arm surgery, Hanshaw, a native of Warren, said, "I won't let that dream die."
Hanshaw signed his first professional contract in May 2000, less than 10 months after his father was tragically killed. Hanshaw has won 15 straight fights, including 10 by knockout.
As an amateur, Hanshaw won 300 of 322 fights and was an alternate on the 2000 United States Olympic Boxing team.
Fight drought
Though he is ranked 25th in the world in the WBA, WBC and IBF ratings and 11th in the USBA ratings, Hanshaw has not had a bout since winning a 10-round decision against Etianne Whitaker on July 16, 2002.
There was a break from every day training and some improprieties concerning bouts with drinking and a traffic violation that had his career on hold.
In preparing for a July fight in Canton, pain in Hanshaw's left shoulder became so intense that he couldn't continue and his trainer, John Russell, immediately contacted Dr. James Chlovechok in Cambridge.
"We initiated a treatment regimen where we injected the shoulder with a sugar water solution to stimulate ligament growth and we reinstituted posterior shoulder strengthening exercises and there was prompt improvement," said Dr. Chlovechok. "In a follow up examination his shoulder was stronger and more stable and it seemed that the stress in the joint was gone."
But there continued to be pain.
"It was discouraging," said Dr. Chlovechok. "His shoulder was the worst I had ever seen it. He had lost range of motion and my examination elicited considerable pain. I knew the fight was off [and] now I was worried for Tony's career."
An MRI didn't reveal anything, so Hanshaw was sent to Brad Brautigan, a sports orthopedic specialist in Zanesville.
Dr. Brautigan found evidence of a loose joint capsule and the possibility of a fracture in the front of the shoulder where the ball impacted the edge of the socket. There was also the possibility of a tear, or at least a fraying of the labrum, or cartilage, in front of the shoulder.
Surgical repair
Hanshaw underwent arthroscopic surgery on July 5. Dr. Brautigan scoped the shoulder and found the capsular ligament to be loose. Hanshaw had surgery July 15, where Dr. Brautigan removed loose bodies and cleaned up frayed cartilage edges and performed a "capsular shift" procedure where he opened the shoulder surgically.
The procedure tightened the ligaments of the capsule so that they now effectively resist displacement of the ball from the socket. The surgery went well and two days later Hanshaw began his rehab with Dr. Chlovechok.
Hanshaw is not allowed to have contact for five months, but he can run and work on his aerobic conditioning. When the time is right he will, under careful supervision, exercise to slowly increase his range of motion without stretching the repair.
Dr. Chlovechok said, "The prognosis is good and if Anthony follows the plan of rehabilitation and has a little bit of luck, this surgery could be the best thing to happen to him."
"The doctors say this is a four- to five-month recovery, but I feel we can have Tony back in the gym training by the end of November and he will be fighting no later than February," said Russell.
"If everything goes according to our plan, Tony will be fighting for a world championship by 2005," he added.