[Clyde]

Well, doggone it - left shoulder started aching (it does that every now and then) so went to see my orthopedic doc. Decided she wanted an MRI before I got a shot. Got the results back yesterday. Seems the inside of the joint ain't too bad, but I have two full-thickness tears in the Rotator Cuff. Not so retracted as to make it impossible to do a repair, but I have to decide about it before too long. Problem is the having my left arm and shoulder immobilized for six weeks - very inconvenient.

Now - if I don't get it fixed, the torn tendons are going to retract enough that they can't be reconstructed, AND the other two will be getting extra strain and likely tear in the future, with reduced range of motion. What to do, what to do?

Anybody have any thoughts? Considering I am 81 and this is left shoulder while I am very dominantly right handed, so I can probably get along with reduced ROM in that left shoulder, but likely won't be happy with it..

 

[Pardt]

3 coworkers have recently had shoulder surgery. One within the last couple weeks. Main thing has been following the physical therapy afterwards and not overdoing it.

 

[bodes]

Well, doggone it - left shoulder started aching (it does that every now and then) so went to see my orthopedic doc. Decided she wanted an MRI before I got a shot. Got the results back yesterday. Seems the inside of the joint ain't too bad, but I have two full-thickness tears in the Rotator Cuff. Not so retracted as to make it impossible to do a repair, but I have to decide about it before too long. Problem is the having my left arm and shoulder immobilized for six weeks - very inconvenient.

Now - if I don't get it fixed, the torn tendons are going to retract enough that they can't be reconstructed, AND the other two will be getting extra strain and likely tear in the future, with reduced range of motion. What to do, what to do?

Anybody have any thoughts? Considering I am 81 and this is left shoulder while I am very dominantly right handed, so I can probably get along with reduced ROM in that left shoulder, but likely won't be happy with it..

A woman at a local secondhand store tore her RC playing Pickle ball and will have surgery done next Wednesday....She's approximately in her early to mid-sixties and is scheduled to have it done arthroscopically and recovery time is set at the same time of six weeks...She's been told the same thing in that now is the time to have it done, as the option will not be there later on.....IF you don't think you'll be happy with a bum shoulder, then by all means if you are in relatively good health have the surgery done....Bodes

 

[Clyde]

A woman at a local secondhand store tore her RC playing Pickle ball and will have surgery done next Wednesday....She's approximately in her early to mid-sixties and is scheduled to have it done arthroscopically and recovery time is set at the same time of six weeks...She's been told the same thing in that now is the time to have it done, as the option will not be there later on.....IF you don't think you'll be happy with a bum shoulder, then by all means if you are in relatively good health have the surgery done....Bodes

Yeah, that issue has been floating up to the top of my mind and trending me towards saying "Well, lets schedule it". Will be around six weeks out at the earliest because have to wait that long after cortisone shot, but we have that much pad. Had the right shoulder get really bad with four full thickness tears and all retracted too far to reconstruct, plus cartilage just gone and chronic partial dislocation. Fixing that required a shoulder replacement, but it worked really well - but I'd prefer to avoid that if possible. Interestingly, recovery time and post-surgery PT is about the same. Six weeks immobilization, three to four months PT and six months to a year for complete recovery. I'm leaning toward having it done, but it is something to think hard about considering I need a walker to get around without falling in a heap - which is hard with only one hand to grab with.

Well, managed it once, about six years ago, guess I can manage it again. As I say, leaning toward "Yeah, let's do it", but still have some thinking and convincing to do. Heck, have good insurance and a doc who did a good job before and has an excellent reputation, even if I am 81...

 

[Highrider]

Bro Clyde, here’s a little secret that they don’t bother to tell you about your likley hood of a future bum wing. When, in a few more years, the odds of having to use a walker of some kind for getting around for whatever reasons, either temporarily or otherwise, are way better than winning the lottery, and having a shoulder that’s fubar makes that gizmo just l that much harder, nay almost impossible to use correctly and safely. Whether shopping or just going to get a haircut, hauling that sucker out of the car and getting it good to go gives a feller pause for reflection on his misspent youth. Even the bathroom, especially if you’re in a hurry… YIKES?? 😵‍💫 You’ve lived this long, what’s a few weeks downtime? Cheap trade off insurance to a better quality of life scenario down the road. Just saying…..😇

 

[Miller Tyme]

When my Dad was 84 his doctor suggested surgery for his knee and after he & I discussed it he decided against it, mostly because the older you are the harder it is to heal. Now that said that was almost 20 years ago and surgeries have gotten less evasive/better than then. A friend of mines dad had a hip replacement at 86 a few years ago and was out and about in his yard in 6 weeks and happy he had it done.

So I guess a lot depends on your assessment of your health, how many years you figure you got, and something most don't consider is how the health of the better half is. If the Librarian has issues that may require you to assist her as she gets up in years like arthritis then you will find you are going to need both arms to assist her and a bum wing won't do.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[IamElmerJFudd]

Have the surgery, Clyde. It may seem a minor inconvenience now, but the pain will only get progressively worse, and the range of motion will get less if the other tendons are strained to tearing as well. I have a friend who opted against reconstructive surgery after a car accident and gradually lost about 90% use of the injured arm. With lack of use the muscles shrank so his left arm looks about a third the size of his right. It's almost summer. You don't want to be walking around shirtless with one skinny arm, do you?

 

[johnsonlmg]

Keep in mind 90+% of the these surgeries are medicare fraud and these doctors have quotas to fill these days. 65+ is what keeps every hospital in the country running, it is their business model. It's like pulling up to a car dealership in a 10 YO car and asking the sales staff if you need a new car.

 

[Whig]

That may be near the truth but if you need the surgery and you have a surgeon you can trust ( for whatever reason), sometimes you need to have the faith and trust in God to move forward with the surgery. Might be more than 6 weeks recovery but, if it works out as planned, will you look back and say "I'm glad I did this!". Trust and Faith in God. Not much else to go with these days!

 

[peterbats59]

I've had both shoulders reconstructed. Both turned out to be better than they ever were, even before the injuries, and the surgeon's work has stood the test of time (one was fixed in January 2000 and the other in 2009). Find the best surgeon you can afford, one who does shoulders many times a week (hint -- that means travel to a big city with a huge medical establishment like Houston or New York.) DO YOUR POST-SURGERY PT LIKE LIFE AS YOU KNOW IT AND WANT IT TO BE DEPENDS ON IT, and you'll be fine. What's a few months out of commission compared to a lifetime of limited capacity?

 

[peterbats59]

And there's NEVER a "good" time to get fixed up. I'm having my own aggravation: a 20-year old hernia mesh repair on my right side needs attention and I just happen to have a new left side hernia. On my way to the surgeon for discussion and scheduling in an hour! And I have absolutely no time for this, but it has to get done, so that's that.

 

[hannibalbarca]

My sister in her 80s has had 2 knees and one hip replaced. First knee and hip went swimmingly but the 2nd knee, not so much and I believe she's opted out on the other hip replacement.
I just had cataract surgery late early last fall. Left eye went great. On right eye, retina detached twice and then eye got badly infected. I fear I will not see out of that one again and there was talk about removing the eye which could still happen. Always risk with any medical procedure, but, as stated, risk without doing it as well.
Good luck with your decision, sure this response won't really help.
No guarantees with any surgery no matter who performs it. Gpt no idea of the source of my eye infection: it developed a week after my surgery.

 

[curly1]

My dad, now 95, had his right shoulder done in his early 80's. Before the surgery he could not lift his arm above his shoulder.

After rehab he could raise it all the way up which the doctor was doubtful before hand that he would get it that far.

Yeah get it done.

 

[LVSteve]

Get it done and be thankful it is on your non-dominant side. Late wife #1 needed her right (dominant) shoulder doing at about age 50. Guess who got volunteered to look after her coiffure every morning before we went to work. This led to a joke in her office. "Here comes Connie, dress by Dior, shoes by Jimmy Choo, hair by...Steve???"

 

[limpetmine]

I've had both done, 7 years apart. Heed their warning; delaying repair will make it irreparable. If it were I, I'd schedule the first available surgical suite and get it behind me. I don't regret having either one of them done. Good luck Clyde!

 

[Clyde]

Bro Clyde, here’s a little secret that they don’t bother to tell you about your likley hood of a future bum wing. When, in a few more years, the odds of having to use a walker of some kind for getting around for whatever reasons, either temporarily or otherwise, are way better than winning the lottery, and having a shoulder that’s fubar makes that gizmo just l that much harder, nay almost impossible to use correctly and safely. Whether shopping or just going to get a haircut, hauling that sucker out of the car and getting it good to go gives a feller pause for reflection on his misspent youth. Even the bathroom, especially if you’re in a hurry… YIKES?? 😵‍💫 You’ve lived this long, what’s a few weeks downtime? Cheap trade off insurance to a better quality of life scenario down the road. Just saying…..😇

Oh, I know all about the one-armed using a walker thing - back in '19 when I had my right shoulder done, I was already using a walker (bilateral neuropathy affecting ability to stay upright when moving around), and doing it with one arm in an immobilizing sling post surgery was - difficult.

 

[Clyde]

Gentlemen, much appreciate the thoughts (good ones, I think and a man can use as many of those as he can get). I (1) do have access to an excellent surgeon who does enough shoulders to stay in practice and have a good team (even if not in Dallas or Houston or even over in Shreveport or up in Tyler). He did the replacement (reverse procedure) on my right shoulder, and I couldn't tell it had been done except the scar under the arm where they went in. 90-95% range of motion, no pain; (2) I understand the progressive nature of rotator cuff tendon tears and the need to get fixing done while reconstruction is still possible; (3) will be around six weeks before we can schedule it, but i expect to make a final decision and get busy scheduling things next week.

And once again - thanks for taking the time to give me thoughts and experiences. Helps to get that kind of perspective.

 

[mnmkeller]

Your information is good....the longer you wait, the greater the chance of recurrence as well as more difficult recovery etc etc. Plus if you blow out the others they may decide it's not worth repairing and the decision is made for you.

I would recommend if you are gonna do it at all, do it as soon as reasonably possible.

 

[Clyde]

Your information is good....the longer you wait, the greater the chance of recurrence as well as more difficult recovery etc etc. Plus if you blow out the others they may decide it's not worth repairing and the decision is made for you.

I would recommend if you are gonna do it at all, do it as soon as reasonably possible.

Yep, to all of that. Had a recent cortisone shot (another problem) and have to wait at least six weeks after that before can do the surgery. But can schedule it and do all the getting ready stuff between now and then.

 

[Dallased]

Clyde, been there and done that. Mine was way too many years of catching and returning that little round object to the thrower, not to ignore the fact that for too many years of I was the "thrower". And I do mean a lot of returns. Excellent surgeon, excellent therapist (do the damn exercises no matter how much they hurt) and I, at the age of 77, am still able to throw the little round sphere pretty well. I have nuts and bolts in the shoulder area and they always show up on xrays but it is cool. Shooting, no problem. I don't know your age but it is worth consdering. And, yes, your shoulder will freeze eventually and you will have to use the functional arm to lift the frozen arm.

The cortisone shot is all part of the regimen. The damn things never work, hurt like hell as the flaming bullet travels across your shoulders and you eventually wind up in pre surgery with a numbing shot in the nerve trunk (kinda neat actually) as your shoulder and arm turn to jelly immediately.

Anyhow, make the best decision for youl