shoulder replacement
 

anyone here ever have a shoulder replacement that would like to share their experience?

I've never even heard of that.. What exactly are they replacing? You mean the 'ball' portion?

I've had a few major shoulder surgeries due to dislocation and a torn labrum.

they replace the "ball and socket", I have bad arthritis.

ok, gotcha, basically same thing as a hip replacement I would think. Mine got torn out of socket and broke the scapula and ripped the labrum off and I had it stapled back together and repaired and it took a solid 8 weeks of PT to get it where I had 90% range of motion. I'm pretty sure a replacement is an easier repair and shorter recovery time.

No shoulders really but a hundreds of knees and hips as a PT aide.

Do your exercises. If they want you to use a passive range-of-movement machine, use it - even if it is a PITA.

If you don't hate your PT either you are slackin' or they are ...

Friend of mine at work is having it done in about 2 weeks. He already has a hip implant. He's 55.

My BIL had both hips replaced at 58. He bikes and walks daily and is doing really well.
He recently told me he wished he had done it 10 years earlier when he first started having problems.

I hope you get the same outcome with your shoulder.

ask for an interscalene catheter and pain medication pump of some sort.

Get the Steve Austin special!

Are you having the "reverse total shoulder replacement" procedure done or the normal procedure? I understand that people with severe arthritis sometimes get the reverse procedure done.

I remember on a bike ride right after I had my hip replaced- an oral surgeon said something to the effect of:
You can replace a shoulder or a TMJ joint, and it will last forever. The hips fail because it is constantly loaded and wears down. It was something I understood, but didn't really want to hear, being as I had the HIP done.

So good news- the shoulder SHOULD last a while.

thanks for all the comments, I'm getting the normal procedure. I'm told when a person has a torn rotator cuff is when they do the reverse total. I'm told I'll lose mobility and I was wondering just how much would be lost. I've lost mobility and strenght due to pain, i was wondering how much mobility is lost.

just talked to an acquaintance. 70 yrs old. had one regular and one reverse procedure, over the period of a year. zero problems, he says they feel like new.

Ask your doctor but I would assume you'll have more mobility than you do now.

I had a total shoulder replacement in 2009 after a bicycle accident. Shattered humor head in about six pieces (makes an interesting x-ray). Doc said he could make a good looking bone, but the bone would die because the blood supply had been compromised, leading to severe arthritis. Surgery #1 put the bone back together with screws & a plate. Surgery #2 involved removal of the humor head and insertion of a pin in the bone and a ball to replace the head. Surgery #3 involved replacing the "receiver" or "socket," even though the joint is not really a ball & socket like a hip.

I still have a little residual nerve pain and reduce mobility. Arm mobility is pretty much limited to 90 degrees perpendicular when standing. The pain only bothers when I sleep in one position too long. It feels like when your leg goes numb on an airplane because you can't move around. I just take a night time Tylenol before I go to bed.

Be advised the "carpentry" work is done with the bone poking out as your shoulder is pulled back on the table. Protecting the nerve that runs through there (makes your hand & fingers work) is paramount in this procedure. I believe the residual nerve pain is from that nerve being moved around. That is why you want a shoulder only specialist to be doing this procedure. If that nerve is damaged, that's a bell that can't be un-rung.

All that said, after the total replacement, my shoulder felt better immediately after the surgery than it did before. Of course, technically there was no joint left to hurt.

Good luck!