Surgery for Bone Spur-Shoulder

[Tokie]

My husband had the arthroscopic shoulder surgery to smooth off a bone spur. He waited too long to have the surgery developed a "frozen shoulder" - he spent about a month in PT before surgery getting gently manipulated to release the scar tissue(yeow). The orthopedist compared having a bone spur in your shoulder joint to "having a butter knife trying to cut a steak" (the "steak" being your rotator cuff ! Recovery was more like 3 weeks as I recall, and involved more PT to strengthen his shoulder muscles to protect his joint. He can now cycle, do push ups, yard work, kayak, etc pain-free. BTW, I work in a hospital outpatient surgery (recovery room RN). If they find that your RC is damaged enough to need a repair, you'll be using that arm very little for about 6 weeks. But I would get it fixed sooner rather than later if it's limiting your activities, too painful to sleep well, etc. If you do need a RC repair, the anesthesiologist can give you an "interscalene nerve block" which will make the first 10 to 12 hours of your recovery infinitely more comfortable, and you can start oral pain meds before the block wears off all the way. Good luck! Carol

[ehirsch83]

Thank you everybody for your words of wisdom and advice!

I am now waiting to get on my dad's insurance(won't have the deductable like I do on mine-eekk being on a single person insurance plan isn't fun) which should kick in the 2nd week of feb(didn't know that in fl if you are a student and under 25 your parents insurance can't turn you down). Once I get on his insurance the surgery will be scheduled for the next week or two.

[SheFly]

Good luck, and be sure to keep us posted! We will all have shoulder stories to share .

SheFly