Shoulder surgery, who's had it? **may contain Graphic images**

[johnster]

I separated my shoulder + shredded up a bunch of stuff in there playing lacrosse back in highschool (I'm 29 now).

Get this: They initially thought it was dislocated at the hospital, so in the process of yanking on it to try and get it back into place, they MADE IT WORSE!!      -I should've sued looking back on it... 

Now my collarbone sticks WAY out + looks like a dislocated shoulder even though it's not, and it's more and more painful each year.

I know I'm going to have to go into "the shop" and get it worked on sooner than later, which should be a pleasant way to spend the afternoon. I'm thinking begining of winter would be good so I can still ride!! 

[CDawg]

My main question is this:  how many of you have had shoulder surgery, rotator cuff and ligament repair?  How long did the rehab last?  how long before you felt 100%?  Any general thoughts re: this?

Another question I have for any experts out there is what if I wait till the end of summer to get this done?  (that's assuming I need surgery)  What are the consequences?  I'd like to finish out the hockey season, but not at the expense of long term damage.

I had a type 2 Labrum Repair last September.  It was initially injured from a snowboarding accident.  I subluxed it (partial dislocation).  The shoulder got progressive weaker over the next 7 years or so.  My right shoulder would pop out every 6~9 month and pop itself back in from carrying stuff.  It finally poped out when I was doing strengthening exercise with a 5 lbs weight.

My initial doctor (~7 years ago) told me since I don't play sports professionally, I "probably" don't need surgery.  Bad advice.  I wish I remember the doctor's name so I can provide him with some feedback.  Last lear before the surger, I did more research and the correct prognosis is if you are below 30, then surgery is likely the best course of action.  I gave up playing volleyball for 7 years because of a sporatically bad joint.  If I had know surgery whould have allowed me to play again (even it it is just recreationallly) I would have gotten it taken care of sooner.

The final diagnosis was around April of 2007.  I push the surgery out until mid-Spetember to strike a compromise between motorcycling and snowboarding. 

Another imporant point though, talk to the physical therapist on rehab time frame.  The surgeon was completely wrong about the rehab time frame.  You will get a much more realistic timeframe from the PT since that is actually what they do.  The Surgeon just cut and sew.  It took about 1.5x to 2x as long as I was quoted.  It's June now so I would say, post-surgery, it took me 9 month to feel 95%.  My strength is still way down and I don't expect to get that back until maybe December.

Net/Net: I'm real happy about the surgery.  I wish the surgeon would have told me how long the actual rehad process was.  I fault my 1st doctor for providing bad advice to not have surgery when it first happened.

Feel free to PM me or ask her any question and I will answer them as truthfully as I can.   Also happy to post pic of the procedure, but don't want to gross anyone out.

[gojira]

... I am currently shopping for health insurance ...

I got my insurance through eHealthInsurance.com ... a great place to comparison shop among policies.

Keep in mind, as you may be aware since you've had insurance on and off, there's a delay between getting an approval and actually receiving insurance coverage. It's a PITA tactic of some insurance companies to make sure you're not getting the insurance because of an urgent/emergency need or because of an expensive, ongoing medical condition. I had to wait a month or so before getting mine, with an effective date from the time I signed up. Essentially I paid for a month of premium without the benefit of the insurance.

This delay being said, you should factor in the timing needed to get insurance and the timing of your surgery, including any needed pre-surgery appointments as you want all those appointments covered by insurance to make the necessity of your surgery appear more legitimate (instead of having it appear as a pre-existing condition for which the insurance company can and probably would deny).

EDIT: If and when you sign up for new insurance, be careful how you answer questions about your medical history as you don't want them to find a way to think your shoulder is a pre-existing condition. I also answered that I did not currently have insurance at the time I signed up (which was true as I did not have coverage for a few years, which might explain the delay in getting coverage I mentioned above), and I did not know offhand the name of my previous insurance company. Essentially, I wanted to start with a clean slate and not have my previous injuries affect my new coverage.

[Kaveh]

Yeah, I'm concered about the whole pre-exsisting injury thing.  I can wait a couple of months before any doctor visits, I've gone this long, whats a few more months.  My bed could use some more pillows  

As far as time since last insured, it hasn't been that long.  Last year is when I quit my job. 

Thanks for all the feedback guys

[snip]  Also happy to post pic of the procedure, but don't want to gross anyone out.

I'm down for some pics 

[Speeddog]

Ummm... can you link to the pics rather than posting them, please?

[CDawg]

I'm down for some pics 

EDIT:

Ummm... can you link to the pics rather than posting them, please?

Sure

EDIT:

Those are OK, I forgot it was by 'scope. 

Okay, back on.

[Speeddog]

Those are OK, I forgot it was by 'scope. 

[cyrus buelton]

damn, I wish I could find mine!


You can see what a broken titanium pin in the shoulder joint looks like

[Kilgore Trout]

 Sorry to bring this up ,its not what I want to do on a Monday.

I hurt my sholder last week and its been a bad few days.
Has any one healed up without surgery?
I spent the weekend iceing down my sholder and it seems to be getting better but still hurts like hell.

  I did make a appointment to see a Dr.

I wonder if X rays are part of the program ,or if ,well whatever.

I did manage to work a 1/2 day today using the other arm most of the time. But I cant think straght.

I need to get some sleep,but the sun is out,,Im zonked . This sucks.  I was having a great life untill last week.

Anyone got anything?  More ice?  what?

Kilgore

[River]

Sorry to bring this up ,its not what I want to do on a Monday.

I hurt my sholder last week and its been a bad few days.
Has any one healed up without surgery?
I spent the weekend iceing down my sholder and it seems to be getting better but still hurts like hell.

  I did make a appointment to see a Dr.

Anyone got anything?  More ice?  what?

Kilgore

My husband hurt his shoulder a while back--2nd degree seperation.  The doc told him to keep ice on it and take Advil to reduce swelling, but did not recommend surgery.  He did that for several weeks.  His shoulder stuck out at an odd angle for the rest of his life and he was never quite the same, but did eventually get back to lifting weights and jui jitsu.

As for the main question: I've never had shoulder surgery, but I have some clients who have.  (I'm a yoga instructor and own a studio in SoCal.)  They have all had varrying degrees of success with their surgeries, but the recovery period can be monstrous.  One guy took two years and was never quite the same, but he was also much older than you are now (in his 50's) and had a lot of scar tissue buildup over the years.  The younger guys who have it done tend to recover faster and more completely because a) your body heals faster when it's younger and b) you probably don't have nearly as much scar tissue as someone in their 50's.  Scar tissue is a particularly big issue with shoulders because of the way they are designed: there isn't actually any bone support like the ball & socket structure of the hip.  It's all muscle and ligaments.  Scar tissue is designed to be tough and it's not stretchy like muscle tissue, so your mobility is instantly limited by that.  The only two ways I know of to break up scar tissue are to basically rip through it (painful) or in some cases a special ultrasonic procedure has been known to help.  Ask a chiropractor about that one if it becomes necessary.

+1 on getting a doc who works with professional athletes.  This is your body.  You only have one.  Get some insurance coverage first.  I also went through eHealthInsurance.com and was fairly happy with their overall selection, ability to comparison shop, etc.  If you haven't gone to a doctor about this injury yet, I would recommend waiting until after you have coverage.  You'll probably have to pay a few grand out of pocket even with insurance, but it's better than paying $35k out of pocket.

[Kilgore Trout]

 Thanks ,, things will go ok.      I hope
Im out of work for today and going to ice down and drink red wine.

   Quote  '' One guy took two years and was never quite the same, but he was also much older than you are now (in his 50's) and had a lot of scar tissue buildup over the years.''

                                Im way over 50. That cant be good.

Kilgore Trout

[Speeddog]

Thanks ,, things will go ok.      I hope
Im out of work for today and going to ice down and drink red wine.

   Quote  '' One guy took two years and was never quite the same, but he was also much older than you are now (in his 50's) and had a lot of scar tissue buildup over the years.''

                                Im way over 50. That cant be good.

Kilgore Trout

Kilgore, I think River's post on the guy over 50 was meaning that he had done the injury quite a while before, and thus scar tissue was a problem.

If you've *just now* injured it, that shouldn't be the case.

[River]

Kilgore, I think River's post on the guy over 50 was meaning that he had done the injury quite a while before, and thus scar tissue was a problem.

If you've *just now* injured it, that shouldn't be the case.

  Correctamundo.  Thanks for clarifying, Nick. 

[Speeddog]

  Correctamundo.  Thanks for clarifying, Nick. 

No problem, just didn't want Kilgore to think it was worse than necessary.

[CDawg]

Kilgore,

Get an opinion from a doctor first.  Without accurate diagnoses on the cause (sublux, dislocation, tear, etc...) no one here can offer any advice of material value.  Depending on what the problems some of the advice here is pretty good, but other parts are less helpful.