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eeneR

Shoulder update #3 with Pics!!!

By eeneR, in The Bonfire

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eeneR    1

eeneR
Ok I finally got my shit together and got the pics into the computer...so here we go..

I finally went for surg May 20th. I was originally diagnosed with a Torn Rotator cuff and a tear of the Glenoid Labral. My best friend of 17 years Sonja took me to the hospital for surgery as this was done outpatient.

I used to work at this hospital, and I knew as an employee it was a great hospital. But now I was there as a patient. I just have to say that the whole proceedure was handled and done so professionally, all the way from pre-op thru discharge.

Anyway, I get into Pre-Op and Sonja was in there with me. Now she and I have been friends since we were 14. Met skating a half pipe :D been best freinds ever since. When things get stressfull the both of us revert back to the teen years. So of course we have to start goofing off in Pre-op. We had the nurse joking with us too...it was great. She was outstanding, great personality and lots of patience. I have very tiny veins that like to hide. She took her time, and nailed the IV first try. Anyway, sonja and I are sitting there acting like a couple of 16 year olds, (oh one tid bit, we were born on the same day of the same year too). In comes walking this dude in scrubs...the pants were two sizes too small. Course Sonja starts cracking jokes, we are sitting there cracking up. He turns around walkes over and says "Hi Renee Im Dr soandso and I am your anestiaologist. :o Then starts explaining shit to me. I am struggling not to start cracking up cause all that is stuck in my mind at the moment is sonja saying that dude has a crack problem....pants too tight. And they really were...:ph34r: He finishes his speech and off he goes.

Next victim....In comes walking another dude, again the normal CDH scrubs...and white rubber boots. Sonja being the ever aware one asks why the hell the stick the CDH logo on the ass?? I start loosing it again laughing my ass off....then goes on to say she wants the boots for the ER (she works in an ER). I look over, course he is standing with his back turned towards us...he turns around ....and over he comes....yup...it was my Surgeon :D Again there we are caryying on and laughing. I was waiting for us to get kicked out of there...

Anyway they finally hauled me off...I remember going into the OR...scooting onto the operating table...and thats it. Woke up in recovery. That was the smoothest I have ever been put out and woke up. My completements to DR. Tightpants.

I wake up in recovery...Nurse asks if I need anything..I say yea...I gotta pee. Go thru the whole routine of bed pan which I refuse and will wait till i can get up. She finally goes to move me to the secondary recovery. I get situated in the recliner....then go for my lil walk. come back, get situated again. Suddenly I have 4 nurses standing in front of me...finally one speaks. "So I hear you skydive" I laugh and say yea, answer questions, then explain how the injury was more climbing related and the whole story. I guess I was running my mouth in recovery half out of it :ph34r:

Anyway, the surgery went good, however they found something once they had me out and were in there. I have a genetic trait which causes me to have very flexible ligaments. Problem is when they get stretched out due to injury this becomes a problem. This is where my problems came in. My ligaments in my right shoulder were so stretched out when my shoulder was sitting idle completely relaxed it was sitting half out of socket. :o What it should look like is 1correct What my shoulder was doing relaxed is 2notcorrect if you notice the ridge that is the end of the labrum of the socket. They had to take and tighten down 3 of the ligaments in my shoulder with anchors and string :D 3anchorsaway1 and 4anchorsaway2.

As things were a dislocation was eminent. When was the question. But It was caught before any major damage was done to my shoulder or to me for that matter. A dislocation in FF is really not something I would want to deal with.

The Labral and the cuff were not quite as damaged as the MRI showed, however those flags saved me having to deal with further damage. My shoulder is now fixed. Just need to rebuild the strength and flex back. It is all good from here.

I will say this...dont fuck with your shoulder. I have learned quite abit through all of this. You shoulder is the most flexible and movable joint on your body. But with that comes the fact it is the least stable and easily damaged. If something is damaged go get it looked at. Also understand this once integrity of the joint is evident, it will not just get better in all cases. That instability will be there, and continued abuse to that joint will do more and more damage. This goes for any joint/ligament damage. I had ACL surgery back in 1993 and was so glad. Im in the same place with my shoulder.

My season is done, but I know that my shoulder is again stable and I will have a stable healthy shoulder in a few months...ok doc says 6, I think I can do it in 4 but still. Big picture is the future and not now. I would rather give up 6 months of my life now to fix something then risk possibly doing enough damage to ruin me for life.

Sorry for the long post...but wanted to share...and everyone please take care of yourself, your body and your injurys. We only have on body in this lifetime, and the technology is out there to get things fixed before they become far worse.

Blueskies! everyone make a jump for me!!

:D
She is not a "Dumb Blonde" - She is a "Light-Haired Detour Off The Information Superhighway."
eeneR
TF#72, FB#4130, Incauto

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akjmpplt    0

akjmpplt
Quote


...ok doc says 6, I think I can do it in 4 but still. Big picture is the future and not now. I would rather give up 6 months of my life now to fix something then risk possibly doing enough damage to ruin me for life.



Not to be a downer, but be prepared for it to take longer than 6 months. I had my shoulder done a couple of years ago...it was almost a year before it was back 100%. I was doing PT, etc....it just takes a while for a shoulder to be "right" again.

Glad I had the surgery however, no more pain, everything works well.
SmugMug

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craichead    0

craichead
Hi Renee! Who knew that we were such loose women?! :o:ph34r:

Take it easy on that shoulder--don't push it too early. Make sure you're super strong before you start any strenuous activities again. Since you didn't have the extensive labral damage that I did, you'll probably have a faster recovery period. But for me it was six months until I felt comfortable enough to go into the wind tunnel, and then another month after that when I felt strong enough to jump again.

<<>>

_Pm
__
"Scared of love, love and aeroplanes...falling out, I said takes no brains." -- Andy Partridge (XTC)

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livendive    8

livendive
I have pictures like that, with the same anchors/strings and everything. I hit the PT hard, and my doctor cleared me to skydive less than two months after the surgery. It worked great for 6 or 8 months, then a botched a hook and got to have a big open surgery (as opposed to arthroscopic) in which they harvest some bone from my iliac crest and bolted it into my shoulder to act as a sort of brick wall on the outside of the labrum. That way when the humeral head tried to tear its way through, it ran into more resistance than the soft tissue is capable of providing. That second surgery took quite a bit longer to recover from.

Blues,
Dave
"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!"
(drink Mountain Dew)

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soarfree    0

soarfree
Glad you had so much fun in pre-op. I'm sure they were glad to have someone smiling there!

When my friend had shoulder surgery she had a labral tear, but the doctor made it sound like she had a torn labia. Gave us a case of the giggles.

Keep up that PT so we can see you back soon!

Well behaved women rarely make history - Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

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Dagny    0

Dagny
I love your pics, eener!!! Now, if only I could have assisted on your surgery...THAT would have been fun! :P

Thinking about you lots and wishing you a really speedy recovery! You know...so you can get back out there and risk injury again! ;) Just kidding, but hurry up and heal already! B|
Take me, I am the drug; take me, I am hallucinogenic.
-Salvador Dali

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eeneR    1

eeneR
Quote

Quote

I have a genetic trait which causes me to have very flexible ligaments



So, are you saying you're all bendy and stuff? :$:D



Maybe :)

Oh and Dagny Thanks! I would have been cool if i could have gotten a play by play of what was going on in the OR :ph34r: from a friend.

and Kel...I have been good with the narcotics, however they have not been good to me. I kicked them to the curb a few days ago...B|
She is not a "Dumb Blonde" - She is a "Light-Haired Detour Off The Information Superhighway."
eeneR
TF#72, FB#4130, Incauto

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phreeloader    0

phreeloader

Holy Old thread batman!!

Ok ok so there IS a reason I chose to resurrect this thread from the dead instead of starting a new one.

it looks like I'll be going thru pretty much the exact same surgery next Friday. My shoulders have always been naturally loose, and to add to that I tore my labrum a couple of years ago when i fell chasing a chicken :S

I've been putting this off for forever, but I figured since I'm currently grounded while my newly reconstructed ACL is healing I might as well get this thing looked at now... and it didn't hurt that I hit all my deductibles this year fixing my ACL as well

My only concern is my surgeon is worried this may only be temporary since my cables are naturally stretchy, they may loosen back up after a couple of years. But there's no way to know for sure, and this is the safest choice for a 1st attempt. So I was wondering how your repair has held up over time. Everything still nice & tight?

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headoverheels    291

headoverheels
akjmpplt


Not to be a downer, but be prepared for it to take longer than 6 months. I had my shoulder done a couple of years ago...it was almost a year before it was back 100%. I was doing PT, etc....it just takes a while for a shoulder to be "right" again.

Glad I had the surgery however, no more pain, everything works well.



Glad to hear that. Mine was done 7.5 months ago, and still nowhere near good. About like it was a year ago, on its way downhill. Better mobility (slighly) in a couple of directions than immediately pre-op, but still in more pain than pre-op.

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eeneR    1

eeneR
turtlespeed

Can we have more pics please?:)



Turtle, this was from 8 years ago. No new pics from the surgery :P

However 8 years later my shoulder is better than ever ;)
She is not a "Dumb Blonde" - She is a "Light-Haired Detour Off The Information Superhighway."
eeneR
TF#72, FB#4130, Incauto

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eeneR    1

eeneR
phreeloader

***

However 8 years later my shoulder is better than ever ;)



Yay! that's what I wanted to hear, I'm REALLY dreading surgery this Friday.. But knowing yours has held up 8 years make me feel a little better about the whole thing

It held up after 8 years and through me spending several years lifting weights and power lifting. :)
All I will say is suck up and push through the therapy, it will suck but it will help tremendously. It WILL get better.

I also had my ACL done in 1993, LOL. That I do have some arthritis in, however still ski every weekend in winter, I just cant run these days, but can train. B|
She is not a "Dumb Blonde" - She is a "Light-Haired Detour Off The Information Superhighway."
eeneR
TF#72, FB#4130, Incauto

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