I am having it next thursday for a torn rotator cuff. They said the are going to make 4 cuts in deiff spots around my shoulder and do it on a out patient....what am I in for after this surgery?
I had it done arthroscopically a few years back. Wasn't a big deal at all. Had to wear a sling for like a week, then some PT, but really, I was back to form shortly thereafter. Post surgery; the pain level was almost negligible. Easy deal with fast recovery for me; hope your's goes as smooth.
I've both of mine done. No big deal, really. I had no pain. Just have to learn to use both hands/arms to lift heavier things above your upper body.
I had it done this year, the most important thing is to get your range of motion and physical therapy started asap.
Do not screw around with the exercises just do them, it's painful at first but you get over it and it's worth it.
I highly recommend renting one of the range of motion chairs, it has a robotic arm you strap into and it slowly moves you through the paces long before you could do it on your own.
I got mine from the brace place, it was not covered by insurance but it only cost around $250 for the rental if i recall correctly, it was $50 a month for the payments.
Do not screw around with the exercises just do them, it's painful at first but you get over it and it's worth it.
I highly recommend renting one of the range of motion chairs, it has a robotic arm you strap into and it slowly moves you through the paces long before you could do it on your own.
I got mine from the brace place, it was not covered by insurance but it only cost around $250 for the rental if i recall correctly, it was $50 a month for the payments.
Had it about 8 years ago, I don’t know how much different the surgery is nowadays in my case I had four small incision the longest one about one inch the surgery consisted of grinding off the bone spurs that caused all the damage to the rotator cuff, then repairing the damage and reattaching the cuff back to the bone. The day after surgery my shoulder felt so much better than the day before I should have had it done years before, rehab is a piece of cake just takes a little time.
Good Luck.
Good Luck.
My surgery had two small holes in my shoulder, maybe 1/2 inch each. The pain of rehab was nothing compared to the pain before surgery.
When mine was done, they sent a machine home with me. I had to sit in that thing in 2 hour sessions every six hours. Strap your arm to the machine with a cold pack wrapped around your shoulder and this machine moved your arm up and down in a slow constant motion. That started the day I got home. After doing that for a week, the physical therapy started.
I had shoulder massages. Exercise therapy, (yes it did hurt a bit). Hot packs, cold packs and electric stimulation that felt like another massage. The pretty therapists were a plus too.
After all that, my shoulder still isn't right. I have shoulder pains during movement and can't lift the weight I used to on that side and anything with a recoil above a reduced load 12 gauge sends me running for whatever OTC pain killer I have at the time.
I had shoulder massages. Exercise therapy, (yes it did hurt a bit). Hot packs, cold packs and electric stimulation that felt like another massage. The pretty therapists were a plus too.
After all that, my shoulder still isn't right. I have shoulder pains during movement and can't lift the weight I used to on that side and anything with a recoil above a reduced load 12 gauge sends me running for whatever OTC pain killer I have at the time.
I had old fashioned surgery 4 years ago. Never again! I am currently recovering from same procedure on other shoulder, this time arthoscopically. Huge improvement. Recovery time largely depends on what you have to have repaired. I had to have tendons repaired and reattached to bone, with anchors, so recovery is pretty slow. What kind of repairs are they going to do?
I won't lie, it hurt like a mo-fo when I came out of the anesthesia. Next day, same deal. After that I got progressively better. PT? GAH!!!! That's a whole different level of "ouch"!
But ... do you exercises religiously, just like they tell you too. I only had to do 30 days of PT. When I went back to the doctor for my 30 check he said I had better ROM than kids half my age and asked me what I did. I told him I did the exercises every day, just like my therapist told me to! 
Seriously though, aside from some residual weakness on that side, I'm right as rain ... You'll be glad to have it done and behind you. I hurt for an entire year before I broke down and had it done. Shouldn't have waited so long.
