Shoulder Surgery

[powslut]

anyone ever undergo arthroscopic shoulder surgery to reattach a ligament with "anchors"? just got the news that i have to go for the procedure sometime in the next year (god bless our the state of Canadian health care). am i going to be screwed for a while?

[Mcwop]

Hoep you get better soon, and don't have to wait too long. Do your rehab after surgery - very important. I have always wondered if the Canadian "wait" stories were true.

[Vinman]

powslut,

Yep you will be screwed for a while but look on the bright side you will have a stable shoulder again. Probably immobilized for a few weeks after surgery and then limited ROM during rehab for a few more while everything heals up inside. Looking at about 6 months to doing anything overhead or very strenuous with the shoulder. Good luck, be faithful with the rehab and don't push too much early on, you would not want to trash all of that cutting and sewing the docs will be doing and end up with an unstable shoulder again.

[Arty50]

I had a SLAP Lession repaired about 8 years ago. Basically, they made a small incision on the front and back of my shoulder, one for the scope and one for the instruments. Each incision was a cross hatch about 1/2 inch in diameter; now the scars are barely perceptable. To reattach the muscle, they used a biodegradable tack. The other method uses a screw, which necessitates a second operation for its removal.

It took me a month or two to gain full range of motion and several months to regain full strength. But it was much stronger than before the surgery. Depending on what muscle(s) you have done, I'm guessing your length of recovery/rehab will vary.