Anyone had shoulder surgery??

[melcol]

Hey, just found out I need labrum debridement sugery and was wondering if anyone has gone through this procedure? Also, which ortho surgeons do you recommend? Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks Melanie

[EddieC]

Had the same injury, had surgery thru Steadman Hawkins in Denver. Steadman Hawkins Orthopaedic Clinics - Denver CO - Home

And did physical therapy with Jen Hide at http://www.leadingedgephysicaltherapy.com/
The physical therapy is soooo important and Jen was awesome. What ever doc you wind up using really consider her for your PT.

I had the surgery in August 2007 and was boating in Chile the following February. I would say it really takes a year to get as strong as you are going to get. You will want to really keep on top of the physical therapy and do the same strengthening exercises before each boating season. That being said paddling has always seemed like the best exercise for my shoulder.

I actually tweaked it a bit this season because I didn't work on it prior to the season and went for a nice side surf that strained it. Hoping I don't need to go in for a second time.

[Crazy Nate]

I had a boney bankhart fracture with a SLAP lesion (requireing labrum debridement) secondary to an anterior dislocation repaired by Dr. Paul Abbot of Vail Summit Orthopedics (VSO) last June. Dr. Abbot is renowned in the field and is one of the best shoulder surgeons in the country. He has worked on other kayakers I know all with excellent outcomes. One year later and I am kayaking as well as ever. I actually wish both shoulders felt as good. I also agree rehab is paramount. Good luck!

Bottom line surgery sucks. If you can rehab with physical therapy and avoid surgery you should. If you choose to have surgery pick a surgeon who specializes in shoulders and you should have a good outcome. Alot of shoulds because there are alot of complications in surgery...making it suck...

[adgeiser]

i had a labrium tear followed by a surgical repair.
....it sucked!!! and still does, my surgery was not successful
i have elected to not undergo a second surgery (the first sucked that bad)

i currently live with pain rating from 2-3 out of 10 daily.

with that said kayaking a long HARD day usually only brings it up to 3-4 at the most.
Biking on the other hand is way worse. i have had to give up road biking. i traded my DeRosa Planet for a cyclecross bike (the positioning is more upright and puts less weight on my shoulder) that said long rides still make my arm go into first pain then numb then back to very painful.... it stays at a 4-5 for the next day or two.
MTN Biking does not hurt as much but raises my pain level.

Just remember that shoulder surgeries have the lowest success rate of all ortho surgeries. My surgeon wrote mine off as successful after 6 months of recovery, with me telling him the pain was still there after 6 months we did another MRI which showed the tear never healed... you can see the anchor and very clearly the tear. he then wanted to do another surgery.

yes, my doc should not have reported it as successful.
no, not all docs would have reported it this way.
and...
yes the doctors are rated by their success rate.


so listen to crazy nate's last paragraph.

[GAtoCSU]

Had a 6 to 12 o'clock labrum tear. Good stuff. Got it fixed and a glenoid capsule reduction. I'm 8 years out and solid. No sublex's or anything.

Did mine in Ga though so that won't help. Shoulder's aren't the least successful orthopedics surgery. Not sure where you heard that, but it's incorrect. Labrum tears are common and the repairs are also very common. We do them almost daily here at my hospital. Get a proximal nerve block with a pain pump when you do yours. It'll keep you pain free for the first 72 hours. Get aggressive with your physical therapy schedule and do your work at home. Get full strength and range of motion before you do anything that could mess it up again.

Also remember this, not all shoulder stuff is the same. Out of the 4 people in this thread that have had a labrum tear there isn't two of us that have the same shoulder joint, cartilage, tendons, bursa, bone spurs, etc. There are a lot of reasons why people have recurrent pain and there's no telling why someone is without actually seeing them in practice. Hell, a good 1/3 of the time we still don't know exactly what specifically is causing the pain.

Bottom line: In the presence of a labrum tear the shoulder is innately weaker than it ever was prior to the injury and it will never be the same without surgery. Over half of the head of the humerus is held in the joint by the labrum itself, not the bony articular surface that you may think does it. Strengthening will help, but it isn't the solution to the problem. It's like adding air freshener after your kid pooped all over the floor. Does it help? Sure does.. but there's still smelly shit on the floor that'll eventually creep out again if you wait long enough.

[PattyNYCO]

Dr. Eric McCarty - CU Sports Medicine. He is the best. I will tell you, however, it takes 8 or 9 months to become fully functional again. I had mine done last Sept 2011 thinking I would be back in my boat by May. It took me until last week to get my confidence back enough to do even Shoshone. Plan ahead........

[jimmyihatetoregister]

I just got an MRI and it shows I have a 2 cm full thickness tear of my supraspinatus tendon. I went to see *Dr. McCarty* and he has recommended surgery. I got it from playing ice hockey.

My best friend who is a PHD PT said, you should consider conservative treatment. I have a huge range of motion, can cycle, kayak (I'm a newbie), carry a kayak, and do all kinds of other stuff. Yes it hurts. My shoulder definitely hurts, especially if my arm is by my side for a long period of time. Like sleeping or in a seat on an airplane. The more people I talk to, the more say, go conservative. My PT thinks he can get me back to a great range of motion pain free.

We shall see, but look at your options.

Jimmy

[PattyNYCO]

Depends on what you want and what you can live with. If the pain is not too bad, my advice is wait as long as you can. If you have a good PT - try that route first IF you are not doing more damage, of course.

Make sure if you do have surgery, you get into a good PT right away (sounds like you are set on that). Stay aggressive with it and don't slack off. Otherwise, you will have to have manipulation surgery (a second surgery where they knock you out and manipulate your arm into positions you would not normally be able to get into to rip all the adhesions that have healed wrong). I had a BAD PT when I started off after the first surgery and I paid dearly for it. I had a really good one after the second surgery - thank GOD or I would have been in serious trouble.

PT. PT. PT.

PS McCarty is a great doc, IMO.

[jimmyihatetoregister]

Dr. Mc... comes highly regarded, and I have no doubts he is a good surgeon. Having said that, he did not give much consideration to conservative treatment for me. About 30 seconds worth, in our conversation at his office...

I am going with PT. A hockey teammate with bi lateral labrum tears told me he resolved it with PT, and he is still playing hockey.

[mrett]

Have the same PT feedback as others. Torn bicep tendon, torn labrum, etc. Surgeon did a great job, follow-up appt. and PT not nearly aggressive enough. You got it anesthesia and manipulation. More PT- 1 year later, strong, pain free and rowing class 5. PT will make you or break you !!