# Shoulder Surgery and Recovery...what should I expect?



## teachski (May 23, 2005)

I am scheduled to have surgery on my shoulder on June 17.  I have a bone spur and partially torn rotator cuff.  I am getting a little nervous about the surgery.  I want my shoulder to be better, not to hurt and have better range of motion, so I guess the surgery is necessary.

Has anyone here had this type of surgery?  WHat should I expect?


----------



## skidbump (May 23, 2005)

torn rotator and a bicep that wasnt in its slot...wasnt told of a worse case and could not start pt for about 8 weeks i was under the assumption i would start the next week "was not supposed to move arm and only had a sling".... was out of work from mid august till dec 3  "skied dec 4" was warned not to fall on shoulder...lost some range but sharp pain has gone away....i being the supreme a hole was out building a fence 2 days after surgery"dead arm was used to just carry screws"...take pain meds and you will be fine...good luck


----------



## Charlie Schuessler (May 24, 2005)

Use Physical Therapy wisely...don't burn it up too fast (insurance caps total number of visits) at the beginning...the stretching & flexibility exercises are most important to get swelling down and develop muscle strength slowly...the big rubber bands are more useful than weights…

Good Luck!


----------



## smitty77 (May 24, 2005)

Teachski,

I'll second the advice on doing the stretching and strengthening exercises.  Give that joint the best chance to heal properly, and hopefully come back stronger.  Keep us informed of your progress.  

I feel your pain (sort of).  Was diagnosed on May 16 with tendonitis and some wear in the rotator cuff in my left shoulder (and of course I'm left-handed  :roll:  ).  The doctor shot some cortisone in, and some of the pain has gone away, but not all of it.  Looks like I'll need another shot.  The MRI didn't show any tear, so hopefully nothing develops.

Good Luck.
Smitty


----------



## dmc (May 24, 2005)

I had a 3rd degree AC seperation of my right shoulder... Opted to not get surgery...

The one thing that really helped was aving a recliner..  I coldn't get comfy in a bed...


----------



## nancie2k (May 30, 2005)

sorry!
husband just had surgery done 2 1/2 weeks ago. he putit off for more than one year. he even had injections in his neck for the pain. he said the pain after surgery was 1000 times greater than he imagined it would be, he is no stranger to surgery, having had diverticulitis, a separated shoulder, sinus scraping, broken fingers and assorted mishaps during life.no sleep for the first 4 days due to the pain. the doc said he could not get all the tendons, will only be 75-80%. he had the staples removed, and there is a redness in the upper area that the doc said was dissolving sutures, heat to be applied.no pt until another month has passed. he can only hang his arm down and slowly rotate from the shoulder while bending over a bit,as the only excercise so far.hopefully, the original pain will be gone!!!!
he waited til the end of this ski season to do it.the pain he had not having it done drove him to it.
best of luck with yours!!!!


----------



## bigbog (Jun 1, 2005)

Charlie Schuessler said:
			
		

> Use Physical Therapy wisely...don't burn it up too fast (insurance caps total number of visits) at the beginning...the stretching & flexibility exercises are most important to get swelling down and develop muscle strength slowly...the big rubber bands are more useful than weights…


 I've seen a routine on one of the 2-3am exercising flicks utilizing bungie cord-pulls...specifically for toning up & maintaining flexibility around the rotator cup area.  Great stuff for that area.  Best of Luck teachski...


----------



## teachski (Jun 1, 2005)

Ok, so hearing some of you...I want to back out and say I'll live with the pain.  You make it sound horrible and quite frankly, you are scaring me.  I'm nervous as hell about it and scared too.
I know its not going to be a piece of cake, but is it really as bad as some have said it is...please tell me it's not.


----------



## JimG. (Jun 1, 2005)

teachski said:
			
		

> I know its not going to be a piece of cake, but is it really as bad as some have said it is...please tell me it's not.



Teachski, surgery is never fun and it's OK to be scared. I was for every one of the 6 (yes, 6 (six)) surgeries I had to fix my broken left tibia and right knee. Your going to have pain and swelling for some time, and your limb will not work properly for some time. You'll wear a brace or a cast, and if you're unlucky like me you'll have to hang an IV bag at work and administer the drip at your desk.

But I think you kind of knew all of that. Whether you go through with it or not depends on your situation. I had no choice unless I wanted to live the rest of my life on crutches or in a wheelchair, so I learned to embrace the surgeries and used each one as a milestone in my recovery. Other than the scars and the metal left in my legs, it all worked out fine for me.

If your shoulder hurts enough to bother you regularly, your quality of life isn't as good as it could (should) be. It won't be easy, but nothing worth doing ever is. Are you more afraid of continuing as you are or of getting the shoulder fixed?

You need to answer that question. If you decide to have surgery, use your fear as a motivator to get it done soon so you can go on with your life with less pain. 

Oh, and if you're afraid of doctors, wait until the physical therapist gets a hold of you :lol: !


----------



## teachski (Jun 1, 2005)

That's it!  I'm calling it off!  I can't have a long recovery time!  I live alone and I am the sole money maker in the house.  It's my right arm and I am right handed.  My hand still works, my arm still works(with some pain)I HAVE to be able to ski next season too...I don't need my arm to ski, but if it's recouping...and there is more pain than I had to start with....

That's it...I'm gonna call it off...I'm a big baby!  I can't stand pain.  I also can't stand bandages and stuff like that.  I'm very anal when it comes to things like that.  I don't want sympathy and I don't want people waiting on me.  I don;t want a sling or bandages...I want to be in the pool the day after the surgery and I want to be playing my clarinet in 2-3 weeks.  I am so like this that IF a car I have gets a dent in it, I won't drive it till it's fixed.
That's it...I've got to call it off.


----------



## ALLSKIING (Jun 1, 2005)

JimG. said:
			
		

> teachski said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Well said Jim..I have had a few surgeries in the past and you were right on.


----------



## teachski (Jun 1, 2005)

I'm afraid of anesthesia, I'm afraid of something going wrong...I'm afraid the arm will end up being worse and I'll be in more pain.


----------



## nancie2k (Jun 1, 2005)

husband was in so much pain not having it done, he was going to pain management. he had cortisone injections in the back of his neck. one of them gave him shooting pain down his arm that did not go away for days. he waited a long time to decide to have the surgery, and it might not have been quite so bad if he did it right away. it was a short time after the injections he decided to do it asap.
he plans on skiing next season!!!!
it was his left arm, and he is left handed


----------



## teachski (Jun 1, 2005)

nancie2k said:
			
		

> ...pain after surgery was 1000 times greater than he imagined it would be...no sleep for the first 4 days due to the pain...


Did I misinterpret this nancie2k?  I do not want to be in more pain!  I also do not want to wait so long to start to get it back into condition...I'm impatient about things like this.


----------



## smitty77 (Jun 2, 2005)

teachski said:
			
		

> nancie2k said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


On the flip side, if you wait on the surgery and it gets worse the recovery may be a lot longer.  Every case is unique.  You may be one of the lucky ones that can resume normal activity very quickly.

My wife suffered with severe tendonitis in both wrists for over two years.  The quack she was seeing kept trying PT, steroid injections, splints, etc. but nothing seemed to work.  The doc didn't think surgery was necessary, but wanted to try more injections.  We had enough and got a second opinion.  Doc #2 said surgery was the best option, as "these things don't heal very well on their own."  He repaired one wrist, took the cast off three weeks later, and then did the other wrist three weeks after that with similar results.  She's been pain free for 5 years now.  Two years of suffering was ended in two months by a competent surgeon.

I'd say go for it.
Good Luck
Smitty


----------



## JimG. (Jun 2, 2005)

smitty77 said:
			
		

> On the flip side, if you wait on the surgery and it gets worse the recovery may be a lot longer.  Every case is unique.  You may be one of the lucky ones that can resume normal activity very quickly.
> I'd say go for it.
> Good Luck
> Smitty



Sorry if I scared you teachski, and I'm gonna take a chance on making it worse. I agree with Smitty 100% here. If you wait and it gets worse, the recovery time will be longer. Also, as you get older it takes longer to recover.

A story...after my left leg was healed, it was time for my knee surgeon to start his magic on my right knee. I had torn both the ACL and PCL and he is one of the few surgeons anywhere who has developed a procedure to replace both in one surgery. So I figured one more surgery and I'm good to go. 

One problem...an old knee injury from my teen years that I had never had fixed surgically (I decided not to against the advice of my doctor at the time) had lead to osteoarthritis in the knee. Since the cartilage was worn before the accident, losing the ligaments only accelerated the problem and now my knee was not lining up anatomically. In order to fix my knee, my surgeon had to align the joint first. The only way to do that was to perform an osteotomy, to remove a wedge of bone from my right tibia to straighten it out and line the joint up again.

In essence, he had to break my right leg to fix it. So, my reward for putting off surgery all those years ago was an extra surgery now and even more therapy and recovery time. I was fortunate that Dr. Altchek is one of the best in the world and my knee is as good as new. And I mean new, like in it doesn't ever hurt after physical activity anymore like it did for years.

So, like the old commercial says, you can pay me now or pay me later.


----------



## dmc (Jun 2, 2005)

JimG's story about how he came back from that injury is pretty inspirational...

I can't tell you how bad I felt for you Jim during those months(and months)... His intense focus for rehabing and taking care of issues as they cropped up was a learning experience for me...


----------



## JimG. (Jun 2, 2005)

dmc said:
			
		

> JimG's story about how he came back from that injury is pretty inspirational...
> 
> I can't tell you how bad I felt for you Jim during those months(and months)... His intense focus for rehabing and taking care of issues as they cropped up was a learning experience for me...



A lesson I hope I never teach again! 

The injuries really sucked, but I grew as a person as a result of all the issues I had to deal with. Mostly, I really appreciate little things more like being able to walk, being able to ski with my family, and being able to hike and fish.

And I have a whole lot more respect for folks with permanent disabilities.


----------



## dmc (Jun 2, 2005)

JimG. said:
			
		

> dmc said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



What was the total time you were down and out... Like almost two years right?


----------



## JimG. (Jun 2, 2005)

dmc said:
			
		

> What was the total time you were down and out... Like almost two years right?



Injury occurs at MRG on 2/26/99...

Final recovery and clearance to ski on 11/7/01...

First day back on skis 11/8/01, opening day at Killington 2001/2002 season.

Recovery spanned 32 months and cost me 2 whole ski seasons.


----------



## nancie2k (Jun 2, 2005)

husband waited too long-doc had to dig deep to find the tendons, and could not get it 100%. okay, maybe 100 times worse..but in the end, it needed to be done. he is going without the sling at home, he had a sling and a wrap that kept the arm next to his body til the staples were removed.he was taking 10 mg percocets before the surgery, now he takes maybe one 5 mg at nite, but not everynite. after it is done, it just gets better from there!
i just have a fracture of the radius and we are both disabled!!!!! mine is about 6 1/2 weeks and it still hurts and is swollen.
i was wondering if he had done some exercises ahead of surgery recovery would be quicker.
ask your doctor!!!!!
i think my hubby just said, "do it!!!" without asking too many questions.
good luck!!


----------



## nancie2k (Jun 9, 2005)

are you still having the surgery?
husband just had to back under anesthesia to have the wound drained and irrigated-he got a hospital infection :angry: 
he was not prescribed antibiotics post-op, the suture line was looking inflamed by memorial weekend,doc did not see him ,just said put heat on, it was sutures dissolving.it was not improving,so he saw the doc the next friday where dr. withdrew a lot of fluid with a syringe and put him on antibiotics.by monday there was so much gunk oozing out even i got grossed out(i am an rn)saw dr on tues, was drained on wed.at least this was not as much pain as last time(one month ago) but it is a horrible setback. they doubled the dosage of antibiotics and this better be the end of that.


----------



## JimG. (Jun 9, 2005)

nancie2k said:
			
		

> are you still having the surgery?
> husband just had to back under anesthesia to have the wound drained and irrigated-he got a hospital infection :angry:
> he was not prescribed antibiotics post-op, the suture line was looking inflamed by memorial weekend,doc did not see him ,just said put heat on, it was sutures dissolving.it was not improving,so he saw the doc the next friday where dr. withdrew a lot of fluid with a syringe and put him on antibiotics.by monday there was so much gunk oozing out even i got grossed out(i am an rn)saw dr on tues, was drained on wed.at least this was not as much pain as last time(one month ago) but it is a horrible setback. they doubled the dosage of antibiotics and this better be the end of that.



Ouch, what a mess! Before I decided to get some of the world's best involved with my situation, I had a similar experience after my second operation on my left leg. Got a low level infection in my tibia that prevented healing and lead to my second non-union of that fracture. That was about the time I started thinking of wheelchairs and crutches for the rest of my life. 

Once I got to HSS, my orthopaedist got an epidemiologist on the case. Even though no infection agent was ever positively identified, I was hanging 100ml IV's of vancomyocin 2 times a day for 10 weeks and I took 750mg of Cipro twice a day for months after my surgery. Hope your husband's situation resolves itself without too much discomfort.

As for Teachski, I'm guessing that my story and yours have scared her off of surgery forever :-? .


----------



## teachski (Jun 9, 2005)

Still scared, but as of right now...going through with it.


----------



## nancie2k (Jun 9, 2005)

best of luck, teachski!!!
jim g sounds like you had a bone infection which is very hard to get rid of with virtual no circulation in bone material. i am glad you survived all that!!!
husband had  tib-fib rotating fracture near the ankle a few years ago, rutland hospital put a steel rod in his bone, no complications there.
i can only imagine how you felt thru all that.

husband jokingly says at least it is not the flesh eating disease.....


----------



## teachski (Jun 10, 2005)

I don't know what to think, so I've decided just not to think.  The more I think about it, the more scared I get, so why think. I know I have to do something, and the longer I wait, the worse it will get.  I have a bone spur and a partial tear to the rotator cuff.  If I wait the tear will continue to get larger and I will have a full tear.  I'm just not going to think about it.

I have to look at the long-term result...I've heard mostly positive about that, so that is what I am going to focus on.


----------



## JimG. (Jun 10, 2005)

teachski said:
			
		

> Still scared, but as of right now...going through with it.



Smart move. And you'll have everyone from AZ's support to help you thru.


----------



## teachski (Jun 10, 2005)

Thanks Guys!
Do you do windows and mow lawns?


----------



## smitty77 (Jun 13, 2005)

nancie2k said:
			
		

> husband jokingly says at least it is not the flesh eating disease.....


Be very thankful.  A neighbor two house up from my parents lost his wife to that.  She was in her late thirties, and left two twin girls, a loving husband, and lots of friends behind.  The doctors were not really sure how she got it.  I wouldn't wish that disease on my worst enemy.

On a lighter note:  Good luck with the surgery TeachSki!!!

Smitty


----------



## skijay (Jun 17, 2005)

I wish you the best for a speedy recovery on the surgery.


----------



## teachski (Jun 18, 2005)

*I am home*

Seems to have gone well.  Pain no worse than what I had after the fall in Feb.  

Yesterday was tough... the pain killers made me quite ill.  I got sick each time I took one.  They were different than what I had there.  

I got to the hospital at about 6:30.  I was in surgery till 8:40...it actually started at 7:30.   I was in the little recovery till 9, at 9:30 the doctors talked to me and told me what they did and told me that I could go home when ever my ride could get there.  My brother was there by 10, I was at his house by 10:30.  I was at my sister's by 6 as my brother was leaving for the weekend.  I was home here by 10AM this morning.  I think I'll be more comfortable at my own house.


----------



## JimG. (Jun 20, 2005)

*Re: I am home*



			
				teachski said:
			
		

> Seems to have gone well.  Pain no worse than what I had after the fall in Feb.



Great to hear! It's all uphill from here on out.


----------



## nancie2k (Jun 20, 2005)

glad all went well!
husband just started PT today and is doing well, also


----------

