I encountered a neighbor today who tore his rotator cuff about two and a half months ago. He chose to be treated conservatively which meant no surgery, just physical therapy. He said he has gained good range of motion but still has a lot of pain.
As you can imagine I began extoling the virtues of rTSA. But tonight I am feeling uncomfortable. Yes, it's true that rTSA is now considered the best surgical choice for a badly torn rotator cuff with glenorhumeral arthritis pain. But I certainly don't know how badly his cuff was torn which makes a huge difference in the course of treatment. The protocal suggests limited use of the arm and chronic pain should be present. Time and the opportunity for other conservative treament should have taken place. The patient should not be involved in heavy lifting or exterme physical activity. This is still considered a surgery for someone 65 or more although the recommended age is going down.
I was more than a year post shoulder fracture when I finally saw Dr. Kai (pseudonym), who tunred out to be my surgeon. I don't think he would have considered, let alone recommended, rTSA had less time passed since my accident. I had the feeling that he wanted the patient (me) to have come to end of their rope.Well, I certainly had! I just felt I had nothing to lose.
An objective and reasonable goal of the surgery would include less pain, more range of motion, better strength and improved function. So he was not promising the moon and the stars, just less pain and more use, if possible
I have had an excellent outcome and got all of the that and more. My sewing table project involved drilling holes and installing L-brackets. I used one of those little hand operated drills. So lots of drilling and more standing and watching and finally success. But I just knew something, like my prosthetic shoulder, would hurt. Nope, I am well on my way to the next arm wrestling contest. Or maybe not.
As you can imagine I began extoling the virtues of rTSA. But tonight I am feeling uncomfortable. Yes, it's true that rTSA is now considered the best surgical choice for a badly torn rotator cuff with glenorhumeral arthritis pain. But I certainly don't know how badly his cuff was torn which makes a huge difference in the course of treatment. The protocal suggests limited use of the arm and chronic pain should be present. Time and the opportunity for other conservative treament should have taken place. The patient should not be involved in heavy lifting or exterme physical activity. This is still considered a surgery for someone 65 or more although the recommended age is going down.
I was more than a year post shoulder fracture when I finally saw Dr. Kai (pseudonym), who tunred out to be my surgeon. I don't think he would have considered, let alone recommended, rTSA had less time passed since my accident. I had the feeling that he wanted the patient (me) to have come to end of their rope.Well, I certainly had! I just felt I had nothing to lose.
An objective and reasonable goal of the surgery would include less pain, more range of motion, better strength and improved function. So he was not promising the moon and the stars, just less pain and more use, if possible
I have had an excellent outcome and got all of the that and more. My sewing table project involved drilling holes and installing L-brackets. I used one of those little hand operated drills. So lots of drilling and more standing and watching and finally success. But I just knew something, like my prosthetic shoulder, would hurt. Nope, I am well on my way to the next arm wrestling contest. Or maybe not.
No comments:
Post a Comment