Anyone had shoulder surgery?

Marie5656

Marie5656

Well-known Member
Location
Batavia, NY
Prior to my recent fall, I was told by my orthopedic doctor that due to rotator cuff issues and arthritis in my left shoulder (the one I just broke) I would soon been needing surgery to replace the shoulder. Anyone have this? How is recovery? I have been told by the ortho doc who read my X Ray after this fall that I will probably be needing the surgery sooner rather than later.
Just looking for feedback on what to expect.
 

I had a full shoulder replacement on 26 June this year and I will have the other shoulder done on 16 October.

Both shoulders were bone on bone from osteoarthritis and very painful. I had to give up driving because I was worried that I would not be able to react swiftly in an emergency. The range of movement was also very poor and my hands shook when carrying anything like a cup of coffee.

I had the left shoulder done first because I was told that I had to wear a sling for 6 weeks after the op and I decided that if I only had one hand available I would prefer it to be the right one. I discovered that even with a sling I could still use my left hand when I needed to.

For the first six weeks exercises were minimal, designed for mobility rather than building strength so there was no need for any rehabilitation. After 6 weeks I have been using rubber bands to strengthen the arm and shoulder muscles.

Pain was minimal apart from the usual post op bruising etc. The joint pain was gone immediately which is why I am looking forward to my second operation.

One thing I would advise - find a surgeon who specialises in shoulders. I have also had a hip and a knee replacement. The surgeon who did these was excellent but he doesn't do shoulder replacements. My local GP helped me find the right man for the shoulder. There are two basic techniques - the anatomical and the reverse shoulder replacements. The anatomical is ideal but if damage is too great then the reverse technique can provide pain relief but the range of motion is not as good.

From my experience I would recommend having the operation. Feel free to pm me is you want to know more about my operation and recovery period.
 
Thanks, Warrigal. I will PM you as things progress. I obviously have to wait for the break in my left shoulder to heal, as that is the one I need done. I do already have a shoulder docI will prog. The one I am seeing in a few weeks is the one I got assigned when I was in ED after my fall. After this is healed, I will go see my regular doc.
 

Since you have time before possibly doing surgery, I'd start by finding a surgeon. My wife got three opinions before deciding on the surgeon who did her operation. We checked out ratings online (www.healthgrades.com was a great help) and we also researched the hospitals where they performed surgery. We used medicare.gov for hospital ratings. Also a big help.

My shoulder surgery was to repair a tear and clean out debris. Recovery took quite a bit of rehab to get back mobility and I found that with the re-attachment of the muscles, I had quite a bit of discomfort due to the tension. Massage helped quite a bit to loosen things up.

Good luck.
 

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