They say one of the worst to get and longest recovery, but so far glad I did. I couldn't go on without getting it done. Got to where I was having trouble sleeping unless I took pain meds. Couldn't put a cup of coffee in the microwave. I had enough strength to lift things, but almost none with the shoulder doing any of the work.

I had surgery May 1.

Meridian Ortho, Dr. Fine is the best if you can swing it. He's the Chief of Ortho for Parker Adventist as well. I was already going there for my knees so knew they were good and was not disappointed.

I suffered through about a year of pain until finally seeing someone in January. In office x-ray and exam indicated cuff tear and likely bicep tendon tear. Stupid Aetna Insurance required I do PT before they would authorize an MRI. Took weeks to get into PT. Then 3 weeks in, PT guy said there's zero progress and told docs to request the MRI. Duh.

Finally get the MRI 4/5, wife (Nurse) pulls some strings to see the doc 4/7, get on his schedule May 1.

Pretty severe damage inside and out. No single event, just age and general abuse lifting heavy things and maybe a few wrong moves here and there.

Nearly a 3 hour surgery for me where cuff alone is typically 1.5 hours(?). Fine estimated 2 hours and change going in but the damage was much worse than the MRI showed (happens). Full thickness tear inside and out. Also that bicep tendon tear so that was cut off and reattached. They put 3 anchors in for everything. Surgery pics were pretty gory. Looked like a pulled pork in there.

First 3 days are pretty rough. The 24 hour block is annoying AF being numb from the neck to the fingers. The anesthesiologist should ask you how long of a block you want and can dial it in if you want shorter. I didn't want it to wear off in the middle of the night so did 24 hours. As long as you stay ahead of the pain with meds once that block starts to wear off, it's tolerable but still a pretty miserable couple of days. Hard to do much of anything for yourself, plan on living in shorts/sweats and have fun pulling them up with one hand! :-) Find some shows to binge watch and get plenty of rest.

They sent us home with an ice machine so you get to wear that pretty much 24x7.

They want you (mostly) upright for 72 hours min. 3-4 weeks sleeping in a recliner so unless you have an adjustable bed, plan for that. The sling has a thick pad to keep the arm away from the body to reduce tension on the sutures and being a side sleeper, it was impossible to sleep with it even being on the topside.

Started driving a bit as soon as I was off Oxy (7 days). But it's a challenge for sure. About the same getting back on the keyboard for a bit of work, but that's still a struggle and mostly one handed, and I have an adjustable sit/stand desk.

6 weeks in the sling 24x7 minimum and I really hated that fkn thing after about the 2nd week. Can shower after 72 hours, but you'll need help doffing and donning the sling and taping up the incisions. Get a box of 100 Tegaderms on amazon for $25.

Button down shirts only for probably 4-6 weeks. You might need help getting into a t-shirt, but I was able to do it pulling the shirt onto the bad arm first, then head, then good arm.

PT starts at 6-7 weeks and the sling comes off unless you feel you need it or go out in public (to keep someone from bumping into you). 1st visit (6/9) was mostly eval and just some range of motion and massage (bicep fix) I'm still early in at only 3 weeks PT (9 weeks post surgery) and still on a 2lb weight restriction for 10 more weeks, but making good progress even though I've been slacking on my homework. PT twice a week and I think I do enough other stuff around the house without breaking my weight or range restrictions that it helps. Next week he's starting me on resistance bands. I was cleared to make 22 PT visits and they'll do more if needed.

I expect I'll come to hate the PT guy soon enough (from what I've heard) but if I put the work in, I should have 90-100% range of motion by Christmas. Surgeon said it could be up to a full year before I'm 100% range and weight recovered. I'm hoping to do a little dove hunting still but we'll see how things go. I did not draw a muzzle loader tag and neither did my hunting partner so that's out. Elk crew is taking a pass this year so 3rd rifle is out. Guess I picked a good time to get it done.

We're luck y to have (mostly) decent health coverage even though Aetna can really suck, but since my wife works for Adventist, it was all in-network. Cost me a few shekels day of surgery to hit my max out of pocket for the year, but the total non-discounted cost was north of $80K. Now my PT, med refills, etc. are all 100% covered for the rest of the year.


Ask me any questions, I'm happy to respond.