I don’t know how big your center is or the capabilities and motivation of the anesthesia department. But standard of course is a general anesthetic (go to sleep) but ask if a brachial plexus block is possible. It should be placed before you go to sleep. You’ll wake up with a numb shoulder and parts of the arm; the catheters can be left in up to a couple days.
If placed early and done right the pain will be greatly reduced even after everything wears off.
From someone who knows.
I had RC surgery with brachial plexus block. Went home with a ball slowly infusing marcaine. I never had much pain. My surgeon lectures all over the world. Last I heard, India. The day I had my surgery, a German ortho surgeon flew to New Orleans, was on the same surg schedule. He brought his ortho resident daughter from Germany to observe the surgeries performed that day.
Find a top surgeon even if you have to travel to a center.
DF
Savoie?
You guessed it.
DF
He did my last one. Dr Suri did my replacement. Things never got better. He then did a capsule release. Things never got better. I worked PT very hard. In fact, there were a few times I wore my therapists out. I saw Suri a dozen or so times following the replacement. He probably did xrays 6 times. He wanted to do yet another surgery. I finally decided to get a second opinion. I went to see Savoie. Within 5 minutes of being in his office, he identified the problem. Suri installed the wrong parts in the wrong place. Dr. Savoie didn't hesitate to say that. I need to do a malpractice suit, but it kinda goes against my character. Dr. Savoie did a clean up. Because of the misalignment, my glenoid component was slaughtered. He tore it out and reshaped the bone. It's still bad. The only other option is a revision.
Shoulder surgeries are tough. Much tougher than knees in my opinion. So is the PT. Following shoulder surgery, a recliner is a man's best friend. The most intense long duration pain I have ever experienced was following the replacement when the block wore off. Oh my hell it hurt.
