---

Surgeon uses new methods, reduces recovery time

By AMY SMITH - THE NEWS-ENTERPRISE
Nov 25, 2024

Dr. Justin Givens is an orthopedic surgeon at Norton Orthopedic Institute in Elizabethtown.

The trajectory of Justin Givens’ life changed because of a sports injury.

While playing baseball for Lindsey Wilson University, the Greensburg native injured his shoulder and had to undergo surgery.

“I was going to pharmacy school, and the surgeon who did my shoulder surgery told me I would hate it,” Givens said. “He said I should watch him dosurgery and actually let me watch him before he did my surgery. After that, I was hooked and decided to change paths and go to medical school.”

Givens said what changed his mind about career paths is that in orthopedic surgery, you “actually get to fix people.”

“I know that sounds crazy, but so much of what we do in medicine is fi guring out ways to manage symptoms, especially if you’re just giving medicineand it’s long-term treatments,” Givens said. “We came in that morning, and someone was on a walker, and that afternoon, they left, and they walked forthe fi rst time in three years after a hip replacement.”

While recovering from his shoulder surgery, Givens said he couldn’t do anything else, so he studied, took his test and was able to get into medicalschool.

“I was very involved in health and fi tness and wanted to fi nd a way to be able to help people,” Givens said. “I’m a part of the group that opened CrossFit Elizabethtown and Cross Fit Fort Knox. I was a trainer and helped with that just as a way to help people before I could actually do it from the MDside.”

Once he completed his residency, Givens moved to Tampa where he earned the top award for shoulder research in the world, the Charles S. Neeraward, in 2023.

“That was a super fun thing and is changing the way people do things,” Givens said.

Rather than doing shoulder replacements using the traditional method, Givens and his team at Norton Orthopedic Institute in Elizabethtown use theirskill and technology to preserve the muscle as much as possible, and using 3D modeling, match what each patient’s individual implant needs to be.

“I’m one of only 20 physicians in the country who does muscle-sparing shoulder replacement,” Givens said.

With only seven days in a sling, Givens’ patient, Gene Lecey, benefi ted greatly from the new approach.

“I’m from California and had my right shoulder done in 2019,” Lecey said. “I have a pretty high tolerance for pain, but I had pain level of 6 and 7 andcouldn’t even pick something up without wincing.”

After Lecey's’ fi rst shoulder replacement, he suff ered complications from internal bleeding and spent months recovering. “It still hurts, and I don’t have all the movement in that shoulder,” Lecey said. “I was shocked when Dr. Givens told me that after he did my othershoulder, I’d be out of the sling in a week, and now I can do pretty much everything I ever could.”

Lecey was not only out of his sling in a week, but he also had 140 degrees of motion in two weeks and could put his arm fully over his head in six weeks.

According to Givens, reverse shoulder replacement has only been approved since 2004.

“Shoulder replacement used to be based off knowledge for rotator cuff repairs,” Givens said. “And patients were in slings for four to six weeks andrecovery was slow, but there was no data to support that.”

Givens’ new method is “respective of the muscle and soft tissue and is the standard of care in Florida.”

Givens credits his team at Norton’s for the exceptional care Lecey and Givens’ other patients receive.

“This is a team approach,” Givens said. “I have multiple PAs and doctors, and my team in the OR works with me very well and knows exactly what I’mdoing.”

It’s the team approach that Givens said enables patients to be seen effi ciently.

“People know if they need me, they can call me right away, and it’s important for patients to know they can get immediate care,” Givens said. “That’sthe importance of a team.”

Givens had hopes of working in Elizabethtown before the Norton clinic became a reality.

“While I was living in Greensburg, I knew the need and had started seeking out my own job site before I ever had the off er,” Givens said. “WheneverNorton approached me, I told them that I wanted a clinic in E-town and they said with the primary care clinic, I could probably come here one day aweek to see patients. But when they looked at it, they saw the need for a full-time orthopedic clinic here.”

Getting to know Justin Givens

Career: Orthopedic surgeon specializing in shoulder and elbow and dual trained in sports injuries

Family: Givens is married to Amber Givens. They have two children, Walker and Avery.

Hobbies: Coaching basketball and baseball, working out, spending time withfamily exploring outdoors.

Awards: Received the 2023 Charles S. Neer Award for shoulder research.

Community involvement: Part of the Emmaus Community and Chrysalis retreats.