A plasterer who had cow tissue implanted in his shoulder after tearing his rotator cuff and tendons says it has given him a “new lease of life” and having the graft would only bother him if he would “start mooing when I see a field”. Jan Hitchcock, 56, tore his rotator cuff from “general wear and tear” after being a plasterer for around 40 years, a blackbelt in judo and a competitive powerlifter.
When his shoulder began to hurt in March 2021, he gave up work and felt “broken” as he could no longer do anything he enjoyed – until his consultant suggested an unusual new surgery, with a patch of tissue from a cow’s Achilles tendon implanted on top of his injury to induce growth of new tendon-like tissue. His loved ones could not help but find it funny, often teasing him and asking if he was going to start eating grass or mooing if he saw a cow, but Jan said, “having a laugh about it is the only way to get by”.
The surgery in November 2021 was a success, and within four months he was back to work – after six months, he could powerlift again. Jan recently made it to the British Powerlifting Championship final, and said he is “75% of the way there” in terms of his fitness levels before the injury.
“Having a bit of cow tissue in my shoulder doesn’t bother me, unless I start mooing when I see a field,” Jan said. "I was just happy to have my shoulder back to normal.
“Of course, people like to tease me whenever we see a field or some cows – they ask if I’d like to join them and things like that.” In March 2021, Jan had a sudden pain in his shoulder, and after going to the doctor, he discovered that “general wear and tear” had damaged the rotator cuff in his left shoulder.
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He said: “I was a competitive black belt judo player from a very young age, I competed in that, and I’ve been plastering since I left school. I had years of doing judo, lifting weights and labouring.” Jan’s shoulder pain became so bad he had to stop working, saying “it was a bit of a pain, but I managed to use some subcontractors, so I managed to keep the work going and keep customers”.
“It was lucky because I still managed to pay all the bills,” he added. But missing out on work had a mental toll on Jan – for around eight weeks he could barely sleep and he had to stop driving.
He said: “It was just an absolute nightmare; it was mentally very challenging because I couldn’t do anything I enjoy doing. My wife especially could see that I wasn’t the same person for a while, I was a bit sort of broken, really.”
Jan, who lives in Bath with his wife Angela, 54, and has three children – Andrew, 30, Danny, 27, and Billy, 22 – has private healthcare through work and did not initially want to have surgery, had cortisone injections and tried a range of medicines. Nothing improved his shoulder so his doctor sent him to a consultant at Sulis Hospital in Bath.
The only option left was surgery, and to Jan’s surprise, consultant Andrew Chambler suggested a surgical procedure where tissue from a cow would be put on top of his injury to help heal the rotator cuff tear. The implant from a cow’s Achilles tendon is broken down in solution to extract and purify type one collagen, and completely resorbs within six months, inducing tendon-like tissue.
Jan said: “When he told me about it, they gave me a leaflet, I went home, and I spent as much time as I could on the internet reading success stories and stuff like that. The positives outweigh the negatives for me – the rehab time was better, and just looking at it sounded like it was the right thing for me.”
When Jan told his loved ones about the surgery, they were happy for him but could not help but make a few jokes. He said: “They’d ask if I see a field am I going to start eating grass or start mooing, but I think having a laugh about it is the only way to get by.”
In November 2021, Jan had the surgery, which involved an hour-long keyhole procedure to put the patch on top of the damaged area and secure it with absorbable staples, and it was a success – after four months of regular rehab, he was back to work and, after six months, he was powerlifting again. Jan said: “It was like a new lease of life – some people go to the pub as a way of unwinding or watch TV, but I go to the gym.
“You’re on your own, you can’t answer your phone, and it’s a place of tranquillity. It was just a massive boost, and I felt normal again.” Jan took things slowly to begin with, but after joining a CrossFit gym in Bristol, he began to see progress.
He said: “I worked out what limits I have, and then I incorporated the powerlifting back in – I did my first powerlifting competition about three weeks ago, which was a British qualifier, and I qualified to go to the British finals at the end of July. I’m about 75% of the way there to being back to how I was before.”
Since having the surgery and seeing his fitness improve, Jan said it has changed his perspective, adding: “I think, realistically, as you get older, people die, and I think you should just be happy to be here anyway. It makes you realise that at 20 years old, you’re invincible, at 30, you see the doctor a bit more, at 40, you see a physio, and at 50, you’ve got to see a surgeon.
“I’m so happy that I had the surgery though, as long as I don’t start mooing when I see a cow, I think I’m all good.”
