Ortho says...
I get an appointment to see the orthopedic surgeon to interpret the MRI and give me a better answer and course of treatment for the "mild tear in the infra/supraspinatus" that my primary physician told me about.
I get the paperwork which asks a thousand questions about medical history, prior surgeries, allergies, etc etc. Easy enough, I am a "no" on all of it. I pay the $25 co-pay and wait for Doc.
After the discussion on how to prepare a great meatloaf with the nurse, the doc comes in and spends 45 minutes answering a million questions I have.
What it boils down to is this;
1, My "spinatii" are torn about 65-70% through and while I was given the option to try a cortison shot and physical therapy for a month to see what would happen, surgery was recommended.
2, I get knocked out, Doc goes in via laparoscope, scrapes the humerus clean and gets fresh blood on it and attaches a couple of anchors, then cleans off damaged tissue from the "spinatii" and pulls them down to attach them to the anchors.
3, I'll have a nerve-block good for 24 hours, and a morphine drip good for three days. The rest will be taken care of with oxycodone (presumably) for the remainder of the month (or two).
4, The limp noodle will be in a sling for 4-6 weeks, with a cryo-cuff to aid swelling/pain/healing, then physical therapy begins. The Doc recommended taking a painkiller 30 minutes prior to therapy to dull the pain and allow for the exercises a bit easier.
5, I'll be out of work for three weeks during the worst of it. If at that point the Doc releases me to work with restrictions (obviously no movement of the arm) then I can go back to work. I won't be able to go down on the production floor to protect my arm (and my company from liability).
Once the sling comes off I should be back to no-restriction work, but maintain physical therapy for a while longer to bring back full range of motion in the shoulder. This should allow me to be back at 90% in six months. 100% at 12 months.
On one hand I am excited. I get the shoulder fixed which will get rid of the pain and my semi-permanent headaches. I also get to 'go under' and have some scars to show for it. Cool. On the flip-side, I do NOT like the idea of being a cripple for two months and have to sit at home for a few weeks twiddling my thumbs!
Go Home
I get the paperwork which asks a thousand questions about medical history, prior surgeries, allergies, etc etc. Easy enough, I am a "no" on all of it. I pay the $25 co-pay and wait for Doc.
After the discussion on how to prepare a great meatloaf with the nurse, the doc comes in and spends 45 minutes answering a million questions I have.
What it boils down to is this;
1, My "spinatii" are torn about 65-70% through and while I was given the option to try a cortison shot and physical therapy for a month to see what would happen, surgery was recommended.
2, I get knocked out, Doc goes in via laparoscope, scrapes the humerus clean and gets fresh blood on it and attaches a couple of anchors, then cleans off damaged tissue from the "spinatii" and pulls them down to attach them to the anchors.
3, I'll have a nerve-block good for 24 hours, and a morphine drip good for three days. The rest will be taken care of with oxycodone (presumably) for the remainder of the month (or two).
4, The limp noodle will be in a sling for 4-6 weeks, with a cryo-cuff to aid swelling/pain/healing, then physical therapy begins. The Doc recommended taking a painkiller 30 minutes prior to therapy to dull the pain and allow for the exercises a bit easier.
5, I'll be out of work for three weeks during the worst of it. If at that point the Doc releases me to work with restrictions (obviously no movement of the arm) then I can go back to work. I won't be able to go down on the production floor to protect my arm (and my company from liability).
Once the sling comes off I should be back to no-restriction work, but maintain physical therapy for a while longer to bring back full range of motion in the shoulder. This should allow me to be back at 90% in six months. 100% at 12 months.
On one hand I am excited. I get the shoulder fixed which will get rid of the pain and my semi-permanent headaches. I also get to 'go under' and have some scars to show for it. Cool. On the flip-side, I do NOT like the idea of being a cripple for two months and have to sit at home for a few weeks twiddling my thumbs!
Go Home
posted by The Reverend at 7:04:00 PM
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