Chris Mackey knows a thing or two about overcoming odds. Odds may be against any player making the major leagues, but 18 year-old Chris Mackey may now get the chance to live his dream of pitching for the St. Louis Cardinals.
In leading Springfield Catholic High to Missouri''s State Championship Game in 2003, he finished second in his conference with a .541 batting average and an 11-1 record as the ace of the Fightin'' Irish pitching staff — all on just one good hip.
Three years ago, Christopher could actually hear his hips pop with each pitch. He soon was diagnosed with hip displasia — a birth defect where the hip socket isn''t deep enough for the hip to function correctly. "Without surgery I was told I''d develop arthritis and need hip replacements at a young age," says Mackey.
Mackey was sent to Barnes-Jewish Hospital where Washington University orthopedic surgeon John Clohisy, MD, runs the Young Adult Hip Program, focused on the care of a growing number of young people diagnosed with hip problems earlier in life.
Dr. Clohisy and colleague Perry Schoenecker, MD, pediatric orthopedic specialist, operated on Mackey''s left hip in February 2002 and performed a periacetabular osteotomy to reposition the hip socket. Mackey''s surgery went so well, that after recovery he threw a no-hitter his first game back.
The periacetabular osteotomy is performed at only select centers around the country, and is a unique procedure used to reposition the deformed hip socket. This type of surgery is very effective in relieving hip pain, improving hip function and saves the original bone and cartilage of the hip — very important for an 18-year old body.
Mackey is hesitant to think what would have happened without finding Dr. Clohisy. "Baseball is how people identify me," says Mackey, "and to think about that being taken away was devastating."
Currently recovering from surgery on his right hip, Mackey was heavily recruited by many Midwest colleges before accepting a scholarship from his hometown Southwest Missouri State University.