Glenoid Labrum Tear - Arthroscopic Surgery

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Hello Everyone,

Not sure what category to throw this thread in since there really isn't a shoulder related category that I could find.

I've been having pain in my right shoulder for nearly a year now. After attempting physical therapy with no success, I went for an MRI. The MRI revealed a tear in the Glenoid Labrum. The tear is severe enough that it will not heal on its own and surgery is recommended immediately.

The surgery is scheduled for this morning 12/8/08... about 6hrs from now. It will be arthroscopic surgery to repair the torn labrum. The surgeon will also try and remove some cysts forming in my shoulder joint and smooth down any rough bone in that area. I was told the cysts occurred from the bones in my shoulder joint grinding together for so long. During the surgery the Dr. will also examine the biceps tendon to make sure it is not detached (this does not always show on the MRI).

The type of tear I have is called a SLAP tear (superior labrum, anterior to posterior). It's also considered a grade 2 SLAP lesion. My symptoms are basically pain with any overhead activity (throwing, tennis, etc.). Pain at night when arm is outstretched. Decreased range of motion, loss of strength and grinding and popping when I rotate my shoulder.

I did not find much information regarding my surgery on the Health Boards, so I have decided to document my procedure and my recovery for all of you. Hopefully this will inform others who are considering this type of surgery or who are having symptoms similar to mine. I'll try and let everyone know how much pain is involved, what meds are prescribed, what the physical therapy is like and overall progress of my rehab. Typing might be a little challenging as my arm must be in a sling for 3-4 weeks.

Right now I'm feeling pretty nervous, this is my first surgery EVER!! I am a 40 yr old healthy, active male who has played sports all his life. In fact, the injury is probably related to overuse versus anything acute I can recall. I never thought my body would simply start to wear out... old age is wonderful isn't it?

OK, I've got to get some sleep now and be ready for the morning. I hope to update you all tomorrow, or maybe the next day if I can't type.

Jimmy B.
 
Jimmy,

Good luck with your surgery. You can find some shoulder threads under the bone chats. Two people who have had recent experiences were feelbad and Sammy.

I had a portion of your surgery last spring. It was a subacromial decompression. They removed some bone from under my shoulder to keep the constant rubbing down. It was a laproscopic surgery that had good results.

I have a colleague who recently had surgery to repair the tears in his shoulder. He had extremely good results and was out 4-wheeling after a couple months. It was ackward for him in the sling, but with help from his family, he did really well getting through that period.

The best advice I could give you would be to find a good PT and keep up with your exercises throughout the healing process.

Wishing you well.
Mountain Reader
 
hey MR,thats "feelbad'. i haven't quite gotten to the "feelgood' yet. just wanted to also wish you luck with the shoulder surgery. we really DO NEED a good shoulder surgery or injury boards here since it appears ever since sammy and myself have gone thru this,everyone who looks up shoulder surgery just gets sent here. it would be nice to have one place for all the threads.

jimmy,if you want to look up the old threads on mine and sammys surgerys,they were back in feb of this year(08)just look up rotator cuff repair,or even CPM machine,since this was part of our at home excercise that we had tio do thru out the day.that may bring upthose threads a bit easier. i think they got stuck on the general health boards and the bone boards if i am not mistaken. i do think ours were a bit more in depth,but you can get alot of useful info from them. espescially trying to wing it with one arm in a sling(you just get very creative). now that sucked.

as long as you follow what your surgeon tells you to with regards to the post op excercises and any hands on PT they Rx for you,you should be fine. but that PT IS very crucial in really recovering all your ROMS after any shoulder surgery that is simply going to immobilize your shoulder joint,which this does with that sling. if you don't just do every excercise,you can end up with whats called frozen shoulder and trust me,you don't want to even go there. you will more than likely start some level of excercises the very next day or the day after that. just do what you can to get that joint moving as soon as possible. always take your pain meds first(just a little FYI based upon experience).ice is a wonderul pain reliever too,espescially after excercise.

please let us know how things are going when you get the chance. hope all went well for you. just give a hollar if you need some help. FB
 
Thanks Mountain, Thanks FB,

I made it through day 1 !!

Overall, everything went well. The actual tear was not as bad as originally thought and only required one anchor suture. However, there was a significant portion of cartilage material missing from the socket. The surgeon performed a newer technique by drilling into the bone in a few areas to encourage the growth of new cartilage :confused: I will have to ask about this during my follow up visit in a week.

Pain was very minimal all day yesterday, probably due to the block that numbed my entire arm and shoulder. Today the pain was more signifacant and I had to up my vicodin from 1 pill to 2 pills every 4-6 hours. I also started my excersises today that include a pendulum type exercise, doing little circles with my arm hanging and lifting up my shoulder and letting it fall back down.

I did sleep in the lazy boy last night as this was the most comfortable position to be in. I've spent most of the time watching movies or sportcenter and constantly dozing off :D

This cryo sleeve with a recirculating water cooler is the best thing ever. This alone has made things much better than ice bags alone. The motor does make a fair amount of noise every 25 seconds, but you get used to it.

This is also the first time I have tried typing... and it's not so bad. I have a wireless laptop that does the trick. I can remove my bandages tomorrow, however, I still can't shower until the 5th day. I have to wear the cryo sleeve for 10 days (I don't mind at all though as this feels so good) and then I can wear it as needed. Besides that, I go back for post op appointment in 1 week and start PT in 2 weeks.

I have to say, things are better than I expected at this point and I can't wait to be able to use my arm again.

I'll check back in a couple days or if anything changes...

Jimmy B.
 
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