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I had both shoulders done a year apart. Multiple tears and both biceps reattached with screws. The right shoulder first and it was painful but tolerable and then the left shoulder. I was up continuously for 5 straight days in the worst pain imaginable, literally did not fall asleep for even a minute for 5 consecutive 24 hour periods. I’m glad that it happened to after the 2nd surgery because if it had been the first time on the right shoulder I wouldn’t have had the left one done.

I can relate to rem141 as his experience was similar to mine. Stay on top of the pain BEFORE the nerve block wears off and stay on top of it for several days.

Good luck.


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Originally Posted by AcesNeights


I can relate to rem141 as his experience was similar to mine. Stay on top of the pain BEFORE the nerve block wears off and stay on top of it for several days.

Good luck.


ya thats where i messed up. they even told me that as soon as i felt a bit of heat in the incision to start taking pills. it was too late by the time i started. problem was it was at least 11 pm by then and i had had a hell of a day so i was whooped and fell asleep.

Last edited by rem141r; 11/28/19.

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Those who talk about pain during PT must have "old school" therapists. The newer ones don't push things farther than they should. After two total reverse replacements, I'd just need an occasional Advil after PT. The key is to do what the therapist tells you to, without overdoing it. Also, all orthopedic surgeons are created equal. I asked a few doctors who they'd go to. When they gave me the same answer, I knew who to use.

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Not the worse but still no Fun. Opiates the first 3 days and some once in a while the first month. Angry again when you start therapy then tappers off. Sleeping was the hardest part of recovery, a recliner does help . Surgery # 3 had me at a point where 2 of the 4 tendons could not be reattached and the same with my long bicep. 7 months out I'm doing push ups and working with dumbells to get my muscle tone back, a bitch at 65 years of age but getting there. Big thing is to protect the shoulder and for me that means working close to my body when lifting. I don't throw balls or swim any longer and bailed on this years archery hunt.


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Originally Posted by Bocajnala
The surgery ain't bad. The therapy afterwards might mist your eyes up a bit.

-Jake



LOL...You've had it, too, I see. Be very careful while your arm is in "the box" for six weeks!


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Originally Posted by toltecgriz
The differences in post-op experiences can often be explained by the skill of the surgeon. Find the best you can. One who does several a week is a real plus. While difficult to do, the best way to accomplish this is to find physical therapists who will tell you who gets the best results. How one accomplishes this is up to you. It is frowned upon to express such opinions but with resourcefulness, it can be done. Of course not all PT folks have the same skills either, so that's another task that is well worth some effort.
Staying close to home may not always be the best idea, depending on local choices.



The above is good advice.

My son is a PA in the orthopedic surgery field & worked at one of the major clinics in the country (as in dealing with pro athletes & is where Bo Jackson had his surgeries), now at a major university hospital.

Today, there are essentially no reasons for anything other than orthoscopic techniques for most all rotator cuff surgery, unless the doc is not proficient or does not do them regularly.

Skill of the surgeon is most important as well as the adherence to the schedule & diligence of the rehab.

Obviously, the age of the patient & their physical condition affects everything including the healing rate & recovery success.

As toltec above says, do not be afraid to travel to get to a highly competent surgeon & facility.

Good Luck.

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Originally Posted by MontanaMan
Originally Posted by toltecgriz
The differences in post-op experiences can often be explained by the skill of the surgeon. Find the best you can. One who does several a week is a real plus. While difficult to do, the best way to accomplish this is to find physical therapists who will tell you who gets the best results. How one accomplishes this is up to you. It is frowned upon to express such opinions but with resourcefulness, it can be done. Of course not all PT folks have the same skills either, so that's another task that is well worth some effort.
Staying close to home may not always be the best idea, depending on local choices.



The above is good advice.

My son is a PA in the orthopedic surgery field & worked at one of the major clinics in the country (as in dealing with pro athletes & is where Bo Jackson had his surgeries), now at a major university hospital.

Today, there are essentially no reasons for anything other than orthoscopic techniques for most all rotator cuff surgery, unless the doc is not proficient or does not do them regularly.

Skill of the surgeon is most important as well as the adherence to the schedule & diligence of the rehab.

Obviously, the age of the patient & their physical condition affects everything including the healing rate & recovery success.

As toltec above says, do not be afraid to travel to get to a highly competent surgeon & facility.

Good Luck.

MM





Absolutely!

I was fortunate to have close access to a Dr. Cummings in Carson City NV. He's highly skilled and does the shoulders for the US Ski Team. If you're out west, maybe call him at Carson Orthopedic and Fracture.


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Dr Wienstein in Colorado Springs that takes care of all the US Olympic team injuries did mine.He does about 300 shoulder replacements a year.,When you are on the back side of 60 or 70, rebuilding any muscle is extremely difficult

Last edited by saddlesore; 11/28/19.

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Saddlesore, Not doubting his abilities but doing more than 3,000 shoulder replacements a year is a rough average of 8 surgeries per day for 365 days. Is that humanly possible?.....even for a doctor with no life that’s totally committed to medicine? I don’t want to be the last patient on a 12 patient surgery schedule with a surgeon that’s tired or distracted. I agree that experience is a valuable trait when it comes to a surgeon but there’s gotta be a point of diminishing returns?...no?


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i had the best orthos in the state. Dr's Howard, Fine and Howard. top notch.


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Originally Posted by MontanaMan

Today, there are essentially no reasons for anything other than orthoscopic techniques for most all rotator cuff surgery, unless the doc is not proficient or does not do them regularly.


Actually there are reasons for open surgery but it is avoided if possible.


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When Surgery Is Necessary
It is important for people to understand that rotator cuff surgery may be an appropriate option for shoulder pain resulting from a rotator cuff tear. However, it is also important to understand that rotator cuff tears are incredibly common. So common that, as people age, they become expected. Therefore, having a rotator cuff tear is not a reason in and of itself to have surgery. The decision about when surgery is appropriate is complicated and depends on a number of factors that you need to discuss with your doctor.

On the other hand, patients should be reassured, that while some rotator cuff tears do cause pain, the vast majority will never require surgery, and many people can find relief with nonsurgical treatments. Patients who are told they need rotator cuff surgery should understand the reason for surgery. In most cases, non-surgical treatments should be attempted first, the exception being in younger patients who have rotator cuff tears resulting from traumatic injuries. If you are unsure of the necessity of a rotator cuff surgery, a second opinion can be helpful.

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I saw a Surgeon about a tear in my rotator cuff.No surprise ,he said surgery was the only answer.A friend of mine is a family practitioner.He wrote me a prescription for physical therapy.I am back to about 90% of what I was before I was hurt.I would try that first before I let someone cut on me who maybe needs a down payment on a new SUV.


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Originally Posted by Huntz
I saw a Surgeon about a tear in my rotator cuff.No surprise ,he said surgery was the only answer.A friend of mine is a family practitioner.He wrote me a prescription for physical therapy.I am back to about 90% of what I was before I was hurt.I would try that first before I let someone cut on me who maybe needs a down payment on a new SUV.


There is alot of truth to that..To many doctors just go straight to shoulder surgery without trying anything else first..My first doctor did just that,skipping everything for an MRI with surgery after..Not even a common X-Ray which will not show actual tares but it will show other things common with a tare..My second doctor is just the opposite,let's try this or that and is not in a hurry to start cutting away...

My wife fell for the cut first and ask later as many others do..Not me...I do have a rotor cuff tare and it does hurt but I am trying other stuff before going under the knife..The Cortisone shot killed 99.9% of the pain I had and I am happy I went that route first..

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10 years ago, I could not lift my right elbow above my belt. Cortisone shots and PT to no avail.

MRI showed one fully torn tendon in the shoulder. Orthopedic surgeon repaired it almost as good as before the injury, but nothing on a 63 year old body works like it did when it was 40 years old.

In my case, either the shoulder block failed, or the anesthesiologist did not administer it. I awakened post op to the most intense pain I have ever experienced. Worse than gall bladder attack with gangrene by an order of magnitude, worse than broken bones, worse than teeth knocked out of the jaw intact, worse than H Pylori.

Post op they administered morphine and demoral, they gave me a valium, and some other pill which I fail to remember. Doc said they had me maxed out, and could not give me anything more. I sat and rocked and panted for about four hours.

It came time to close the Surgery Center for the day and I was able to walk out to the car. Momma drove me home but stopped at the pharmacy to fill a percocet and a vicoden Rx.

Even with the percocet, I was unable to lie down for 72 hours. I sat in a recliner sleepless for those three days. Then the pain broke like turning off a light. I layed down on my bed, and woke up twenty hours later.

I flushed the percocets, and also the unopened bottle of vicoden down the toilet and sent Momma to town for a dozen bran muffins, all of which I consumed before getting traffic flowing again.

Two weeks post op, I walked into the surgeon's office sans sling, but carefully carrying the arm against my naval. Surgeon agreed, the shoulder would not allow me to do anything which would hurt it, barring accidents.

14 weeks post op to get the Doc to sign a full release so I could go back to work. 18 months post op before I could throw a ball overhand, and not very fast at that. Six months post op to handle recoil of the 260 Rem, over a year before I dared to shoot the 7mm STW.

PT was a chore, sure it hurt, but not excessively painful. No pain meds needed for PT, but I was using NSAIDs for arthritis.

I am very, very envious of those who say their shoulder surgery was relatively painless.


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Originally Posted by AcesNeights
Saddlesore, Not doubting his abilities but doing more than 3,000 shoulder replacements a year is a rough average of 8 surgeries per day for 365 days. Is that humanly possible?.....even for a doctor with no life that’s totally committed to medicine? I don’t want to be the last patient on a 12 patient surgery schedule with a surgeon that’s tired or distracted. I agree that experience is a valuable trait when it comes to a surgeon but there’s gotta be a point of diminishing returns?...no?



OOPs typo, 300.Notice ( before I fixed it that one of the numbers was the letter o (o) and not a zero (0)

This surgeon did 6 the day he did mine.I was number two . He quoted me he did about 300 a year with roughly 40% the reverse shoulder replacement.

Last edited by saddlesore; 11/28/19.

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Originally Posted by logcutter
When Surgery Is Necessary
It is important for people to understand that rotator cuff surgery may be an appropriate option for shoulder pain resulting from a rotator cuff tear. However, it is also important to understand that rotator cuff tears are incredibly common. So common that, as people age, they become expected. Therefore, having a rotator cuff tear is not a reason in and of itself to have surgery. The decision about when surgery is appropriate is complicated and depends on a number of factors that you need to discuss with your doctor.

On the other hand, patients should be reassured, that while some rotator cuff tears do cause pain, the vast majority will never require surgery, and many people can find relief with nonsurgical treatments. Patients who are told they need rotator cuff surgery should understand the reason for surgery. In most cases, non-surgical treatments should be attempted first, the exception being in younger patients who have rotator cuff tears resulting from traumatic injuries. If you are unsure of the necessity of a rotator cuff surgery, a second opinion can be helpful.


Truth there.I lived with torn rotators for 15 years or so. Three different surgeons told me they couldn't help me because I had left it go too long. Then a simple act of flipping a wheel borrow up to dump it finished it . Another yea went by with a lot of pain and no ability to use my right arm.The surgeon who did my shoulder was accepted by my insurance finally and I was able to get something done. My left shoulder has tears in it too, but I am living with it. Can't see ever having that surgery again.

Last edited by saddlesore; 11/28/19.

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I imagine every shoulder injury/surgery/recovery stands on it's own. Mine came from a ladder fall.

DD - the gain/loss is do you want to lift your arm to or above horizontal again, or pick up anything in excess or 20 lbs again? My wife didn't take the surgery, and that's where she is.

Do the physical therapy!! It is worse than the surgery. And take the pain killers as prescribed- My Doc got on my case because I wasn't - said pain raises blood pressure and does some other stuff to delay healing.

9 or 10 months after my surgery I figured I was 98% or better to original. Then I got a job (at age 62) mishandling 30,000 lbs or so of airline baggage per day. Up to maybe 50K on holidays, etc.

Well, scale that back to 90%. After a year of that, working with Advil, etc. level pain every day, I was nearly fully recovered ( No longer needed the over-counter pain pills at work) - probably 97-98% now, honestly. It was a loooong year..... That was 9 years ago, 10 back to the surgery.

Only really severe or wrong weight handling (and sometimes the wrong/excessive overhead arm extension) gives me any twinges or a day or so of mild pain, now- but I'm retired and my conditioning has retroed..... smile

I try not to lift more than 70 lbs any more, and am careful if I have to lift more than that. Wrestling 120 lb outboards requires caution if I don't have help. And no more lofting heavy things up on high shelves!

Last edited by las; 11/29/19.

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Have a friend who had both shoulders done and one twice because the therapist messed up the first time though. He is now back to hunting with bow & arrows so it must work OK. Cheers NC


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Oh, yeah- as Idaho Shooter said- I slept (if it could be called that), in the recliner for 6-8 weeks after the surgery. Lying in bed was out of the question.

Before doing the surgery, I was on PT for nearly a year, - no help.

Last edited by las; 11/29/19.

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