I'm about 10 years out from a total replacement. I was in a bicycle wreck & shattered the humorhead in about seven pieces. Surgery #1 was plate & screws the heal up the bone preparatory to replacement surgery. Surgery #2 replaced the ball on the humorous. Surgery #3 was a scope job searching for greater range of motion. Surgery #4 was revision to replace the "receiver" searching for more range of motion.

To date I can lift my arm slightly above horizontal. I have no pain. The joint moves well, within it's limited range. I use Percocet infrequently for nerve pain (like airplane butt) when I sleep on it in one position.

All in all, at 72 I'm pretty lucky to have that bunch of bone fragments reassembled and manipulated into something useful. It's my left shoulder so I still have my jump shot, such as it is. Golf swing, not so much. Have enough extension to ride the bicycle 60 miles per week w/o pain.

Most folks that suffer chronic pain, when they get post-op, wish they would have gone to surgery years earlier.

I’m reading your first and last sentences.

Milt, knowing how active you are with your projects, I hope things go exceedingly well for you. Hang in there.

Zeke, best of luck on recovery, I am sure your decision to do surgery was a hard one and now follow the PT and Doc to the letter. Give it all you can for a complete heal for maximum results.

As far as myself with the stem cell injection last January, I can't complain for the most part. Is my shoulder perfect, no, do I still have discomfort on use, yes, can I sleep on that shoulder, yes, with no restrictions. The pain level is nothing to minimal and I constantly work the deltoid muscle group. I would say now the loss of function in the shoulder is due to the complete tear off of the superspinatus muscle that happened over 40 yrs ago and due to my age and losing muscle strength which will never be re-attached is the best that it can be.

gatotom we talked about the stem cell thing Was too expensive. I hear ggod things though

How's it going so far Milt?

Milt, I should have added to my previous observations. I'm a persistent s.o.b and I had a really good shoulder specialist who admitted to not having all the answers. Keep with the re-hab, I know it hurts a bit if you do it right. I found a stretching gizmo that was a nuisance three times a day. I gained range of motion over three months. When I stopped the exercises I lost all the gains in about a week and things kind of retracted to the earlier baseline, where it remains today.

My observation from all this is that it "is what it is." Like I said, I still have a modest jump shot, the better news is, today I don't really need a jump shot.

"I still have a modest jump shot, the better news is, today I don't really need a jump shot."

Entered early on for quote of the year.

herr, an hour at a time, thanks. Ditto to the rest.

Regards the jump shot, I tend to see things and then unwittingly appropriate them for my own. Was the original attribution Moliere, Shakespeare.....or Sprewell?

Milt, Hope the recovery goes well.
Nothing to add except that I am one lucky SOB with nothing more to b!tch about than a bit of damage to a rotator cuff.
Hang in there.
Best
Les

Hi Milt,

Try to exercise your hand with a ball until the sling comes off.

You will feel pretty helpless for a while.

Once the sling comes off & therapy starts, then the progress will start.

Get a good therapist and start as soon as Ryan gives you the O.K.

The first few weeks are the worst. It's hard to get comfortable with the sling on and it's a hassle to wash. With the meds you food intake is all messed up.

It's funny how helpless you can feel. Thing that you take for granted suddenly become impossible.

From now on you will have to work smart.

Bernie

I hope all goes well. At 66 I wonder if it will be a knee or a hip first.:(:(

We rewrite and reinterpret all the time.

Many public thanks to latunabernie who sent me to the surgeon that did the work, the one he refers to as Ryan. For the record, it's Dr. Ryan Dellamaggoria at Cedars Sinai. I saw the x-rays of the replacement Wednesday and that's a lot of amazing work including a bone graft taken right from the immediate area all done in an incision less than 5 inches long! I swear if that isn't repairing the valve guides through the exhaust pipe....

Do you have a daily stretching regimen? I would (humbly) suggest it if you aren't.

Herr, I had a followup on Wed and the sawbones (literally) said no movement and no weight whatsoever. I'm sure that will change soon and I go back a week from today to have the stitches removed. Normally I do that myself but I think there's more examination involved.

Yeah, this is something that you need to listen to the surgeon on.

(I was more or less directing the stretching routine advise to JackDidley who wondered if he will be in line someday for what you and I have gone through - I think if I would have taken better care of a knee injury by stretching each day then I maybe wouldn't have developed a weird gait and then a limp that ultimately led to hip replacement. I'm stretching every morning now and that twenty or so minutes helps eliminate any stiffness or aches when I get out of bed and allows me to stay on my feet all day comfortably. I'm trying to get my money's worth out of this expensive new hip, so I'm doing what I can to make this a lifetime routine...)

I do stretch daily. I am also active. As in Monday I removed the automatic transmission from my truck on jackstands. The problem is mostly genetic. I was born with O.I.. Not whining, I do OK for an old guy.:D:D

Following up here, I'm doing fantastic. Probably too well as I have a tendency to start doing things that are on the list of don'ts. No damage so far but I need to watch it. That's how successful this went.

Also, and another reason that I am bring back this thread is that latunabernie came by today and we met for the first time. I owe Bernie a lot for his guidance as he saved me a bunch of anxiety and run around by referring me to Dr. Dellamaggiora. Of course we talked 'shop'. He's doing very well as I am.

Bad News
 

Just found out after 23 months my replacement prosthesis needs to be removed due to a MSSA infection. Think staph and you know how that can be. It will be awhile before the surgeon knows whether he can go back and try (his words) to do a 2nd one. Gotta got through a hell of a antibiotic regimen first. IV in the hospital for a week.

The cause? Very likely dental work done a couple months ago. They tell you in the pre-op instructions to not have dental work done for a least 30 days prior to surgery. So there must be something to it. No one ever said don't go to a dentist for the rest of your life.

Fkucing tooth wasn't worth it.

Anyway, all my tools are for sale if anyone nearby is interested. About 25 grand to replace so there's a lot. I'll make a list and put it up on the Misc FS forum.

Sorry to hear this Zeke.