Open Shoulder Surgery

I would like to know if anyone can share their experience with having an open shoulder surgery to repair multi-directional instability. I had an arthrscope thermal/heat procedure 12 weeks ago; things have gone from bad to worse and now I will be having an open procedure. What is the rehab like and possible length of rehab. I'm an extremely active person and my job requires physcial responsibilities. Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks Eva

Yes, thank you and good luck! Eva

Eva, I had the open surgery about 2 1/2 weeks ago. So far things are much better than I expected. The first few days were bad. The pain killers worked wonders. The Viciden {sp?} made me itch. My shoulder was very unstable, it had come out about 20 times over a 10 year period. The Dr. said it was very loose and stretched. After a few days I felt better each morning. I did not need my sling after 4 or 5 days. I am very active and have been able to get on the squash court already (left shoulder problem and I am right handed) I hope to be able to jog this week or next{bouncing may be a problem}. I have started PT. I have a lot of movement, however some range of motion is almost zero. The surgery was 3 hours and anchors were put in my shoulder. If you have any questions please ask. Good luck Adam

Eva...had the same sequence of events my third surgery was the thermal and it didnt' work. Just had the open...it's a bit of a bitch. But I'm getting there. Pt is 4-6 months...I'm very weak and interanl rotation is very painful. Forward abduction is coming back fast. External is coming...backward is non existant. Lots of stretching that is not fun. But I'm hoping that the 4th time is the charm! Good luck to you drop me a note if you want to compare notes. DOnna

I had the thermal capsule shrinkage seven months ago. Last week I completely dislocated the Shoulder and now my doc tells me he wants to perform an open capsular shift. I graduate college in December and plan on having surgery then. Can anyone tell me what to expect? I am very active and love baseball. This is a major setback.

HISTORY : I am a 16 year old female. You see in Jan. of 2000 during a swim meet I tore my right rotator cuff. I had surgery on April 20th to repair the cuff and I also had thermal capsular shrinkage. A few months later in July I had another surgery to clean up synivitis. Then in September I fell down a flight of stairs hyperextending my shouder. As soon as I feel I had extreme pain but failed to have it looked at until May of 2001. Follow that I had an MRI and arthrogram.I was then diagnosted with a SLAP lesion and had surgery for that on June 15th of 2001. I was in a sling for about 8 weeks after surgery. Everything seemed to be going well until last month . Come to find out my shoulder joint is sitting pushed forward because of the muslces being so tight in the posterior portion. Because of that the front of my shoulder has loosened again , and a constant pinching pain has resurfaced. To add to those problems just about everytime I raise my arm there is this clunk/ popping noise that sometimes is followed by pain. I saw my surgeon the other day and he things the previous surgery in June didn't hold and that i have degenerative tissue that is causing bone to rub on bone.I go for another MRI and arthrogram next week at the hospital. QUESTION: Has anyone had open surgery and can tell me a little bit about their experience ?? Pain control ?? Rehab ?? Has anyone had a experience like this ??? HELP !!!!! sincerely Sarah

Hi Eva! I've had multidirectional instability of both shoulders for the past 25 years. Had open bankhart and a capsular shift done on my left shoulder last Fall, and here's a success story. Followed rehab protocol faithfully, worked hard at the home exercises (3X/day for about an hour), and am fine now. Have lost only about 5 degrees of ext. rotation. I am a very active person, and am back to all activities (running, biking, swimming, tennis, kayaking, skiing). Post-op was painful for several weeks. Developed some referred pain. Exercises became quite monotonous, but it was worth it. 4 weeks ago I had the same thing done to my right shoulder (dominent arm). So far, recovery is going even better than last time. In fact, I feel like I can do more than I'm supposed to be doing, but being patient through this healing process to avoid reinjury. Highly recommend open surgery - of course, that is because I have a lot of faith in my orthopedic surgeon's ability, experience, and knowledge. I hope things as well for you as they did me - good luck! Missy Stockholm

im a 21 male. i first dislocated my right shoulder when i was 19, since then i have done it a further 30 ish times. ive had one arthroscopy and bankart repair. i am due for my second (exactly the same) tomorow. another three months of dull anoying aching pain. im really tired of it all. hope its all good now eva. andy

Hi, I am a 25 yr old male and I am having open shoulder surgery on Jan. 8. They are doing a bankart procedure and a rotator cuff repair. I dislocated my right shoulders 6 years ago playing softball. It has progressively gotten worse each year playing different sports. This year I dislocated it again and created a 10X10 tear in my rotator cuff. I have done some extensive reading on the procedures, but am having a hard time finding realistic recovery information. Can anyone shed some light on what recovery is like? I have a high tolerance for pain and discomfort, and I dislike pain medication. It has always made me itch. I have job where I can sit and have meetings all day, how long before I can return to work? I appreciate any information anyone can give.

Eva (April 2001) - Hope you are much better by now. In June 2001, I had arthroscopic surgery: partial rotator cuff tear; ligament tear; cartilage tear; bone spurs. I haven't a clue how any of this happened! It is now 5 1/2 months post surgery, and I can honestly say I thought I would NEVER get better! The week of Thanksgiving, I was discouraged again. It seems like the progression has been some better to worse to some better back to worse, etc., etc., etc. But then about the 2nd week of December, I feel I am almost totally better (in a sense)...I do not have the constant pain nor the difficulty sleeping. My only problem now is some limited range of motion toward the back. Don't get too discouraged. I honestly thought I'd have to consider going back in with open surgery. Why didn't they tell me it would take so dern long! I would not have gotten quite so discouraged, I think. Funny, I ran into my physical therapist last week while Christmas shopping. I told her how it had taken 5 1/2 months to get to this point. She said it would probably take a full year to be at near 100%.