SAD, DCR & Possible RTC repair

Ted,
Thanks for the reply. I kinda expected the immediate post-op pain to be worse and I don't mind that for the long-term upside.

My OS does specialize in shoulders and I have all the confidence in the world in him at this point. Just want to be able say that after the surgery

Heard back from the surgeon's office and they say that the pain pump and cold therapy stuff is all handled via the hospital, so I guess I can play dumb if Aetna comes back and denies the hospital's claim for reimbursement for the pump. I can just say "I didn't know that I was going to have it and the hospital knows what insurance I have, so they should have checked before supplying one to me. I was under anesthesia at the time."

JR

It doesn't look like this forum is too active any more, but I'll try posting here and see if at least people are reading and just not responding because there haven't been new posts.

I've had right shoulder pain for about the last year. The pain was most noticeable when I would extend my arm backwards - like being in the front seat and reaching with my right arm into the back area for something...or simply holding a door open for the next person when I am past the door (so I am holding it open with my right arm extended backwards).

I saw the orthopedic surgeon initially in the beginning of this year and he diagnosed it as impingement and shot it with lidocaine and cortisone and sent me off for two months of PT. Well, a month into PT, I was still in as much pain as I was initially, so he decided to send me off for an MRI to rule out a RTC tear. If there was no tear, then he could shoot the shoulder again.

Well, the MRI came back indicating a probable partial thickness tear along with the impingement (along with indicating a Type II (curved) acromion). The surgeon decided to give the rest of the PT and a couple of months subsequent continuation of the exercises a chance to work...and if they didn't, then we'd take the next step.

Well, I went back again in late June - no change in pain level from the previous visit and we decided to schedule the surgery.

At this point, it's a subacromial decompression with possible rotator cuff repair along with the distal clavicle resection (is this the same as an AC joint excision - as I have seen it referred to in both manners). The surgery is scheduled for next Tuesday (8/1) .

The surgery is same day which means I will be back home that night. The surgeon is ordering "Polar Care" (continuous cold therapy - like the CryoCuff or the Polar Care Cub mechanism) and also a Pain Pump (like the On-Q Painbuster). My concern is that from reading Aetna's web site (my insurance co.) and their Clinical Policy Bulletins, it doesn't look like Aetna covers the pain pumps.

I can't be my surgeon's first Aetna patient, so I am hoping that they have come up with some way that this pump is covered.

I'm a little nervous about this. I have a desk job, so I'm already resigning myself to having to type one-handed for awhile, but I'm concerned about the pain. I know what pain I have now, and it's not getting any better, but I'm concerned about the level of pain after the surgery. I know that shoulder surgeries can be rather painful and from reading through some of the posts on Shoulder1, it seems that a lot of people are continuing to have pain afterwards. I don't know if that's a function of people posting on the forums - people tend to post bad news (pain) and not post about good news (no pain).

If there is anyone around who has been through this procedure that can shed light on some of my concerns, I'd appreciate it.

JR