Operation for separated shoulder

Parent Cafe
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<p>There was a thread awhile back on knee surgery that I found very helpful, so thought I would give this a go.</p>

<p>S2 suffered a class 3 shoulder separation in football about half way through the season, leaving him on a bench in a sling the rest of the season. The doctor said they always operate on a class 4 but like to wait and see how a class 3 heals on its own before making that decision. S2 was able to play rec league basketball (although his shot was pretty bad this year, but that may be unrelated). </p>

<p>Now that basketball season is almost over, he is thinking it might be time to get his shoulder fixed. The bone still sticks up about three inches. He has good range of motion but says he can’t do push-ups or lift weights. He really misses the weight lifting. </p>

<p>We went back to the doctor (just does sports medicine but not the surgeon) and he got us an appointment with the surgeon in a couple of weeks. This is the same surgeon who did S1’s ACL replacement and does everybody else’s surgeries around here, so we are comfortable with him. However, the sports doctor reiterated that they don’t like to operate just for appearance sake. I’m wondering if he should make more of an effort to rebuild those shoulder muscles before trying an operation. Can he really get this operation any time? The other downside to the operation is that he might lose his job. He obviously wouldn’t be able to work for at least a month and in this environment, that is risky. Lots of kids are standing in line for those jobs and he loves his work.</p>

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<p>My son is a tennis player who hurt his rotator cuff. We saw three different doctors and 8 weeks of PT and it was not any better and surgery was suggested. We finally got in to see the doctor for the Cleveland Indians who only specializes in shoulders. He sent my son son to the PT for the Indians. What a difference! In less than two months my son is back on the court and his shoulder is very strong. The right doctor and PT can make all the difference.</p>

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<p>Thanks Boomer. He hasn’t done any formal PT, so I will ask about that. It does look odd, however, to see the bone sticking up out of that shoulder but I guess if he can lift weights it doesn’t really matter what it looks like. It isn’t that visible with his shirt on.</p>

4

<p>I think you should talk to the surgeon before you make up your mind. Most surgeons go out of their way to avoid surgery (at least the good ones do). Your son could certainly do PT and then schedule surgery in another six months or a year. </p>

<p>It’s also possible that his job would be glad if he took a month off; reduces payroll costs but doesn’t cost an employee!</p>