Surgery for Labral Tear

I just had an MRI and was diagnosed with a significant labral tear in my right shoulder. I have had issues with this shoulder for the past 4-5 years. The Dr was surprised at the significance of the tear because I am not in excruciating pain all the time. I am right handed and must admit I have pain when trying to put any weight on my right shoulder(think yoga). My shoulder hurts when drying my hair etc. Wondering if anyone has had this type of surgery and what the recovery is like?

My son had it. He slept in a recliner for a week and had to wear this big padded sling for a few weeks. He actually ended up having a few friends that also had the surgery, all as a result of sports injuries. The only word of caution I would give you is that at least half of these people, my son included, ended up re-tearing the labrum, so you have to be careful. Don’t ever try sky-diving, which caused his second injury.

Thanks for the info. I don’t plan on doing any extreme sports but would like to continue with yoga and weight bearing exercise. I think I initially tore it while skiing. I still enjoy skiing but only go occasionally. I’m guess I am worried about recovery and returning to work. I plan on being out of work for 3 weeks. I worry about the basic issues of using the computer etc. Heck, I worry about drying my hair. I know ridiculous but true:)

My co-worker had that repair done a couple years ago. I think it was 2 weeks before returning to work, but we do “desk work”. Sling right after surgery and an “ice” sleeve, but the nice thing is the sling comes off a couple times a day to move elbow etc. including showers. Lots of PT - at least several months worth.

I, too, am surprised you are not in more pain. We thought I had a labral tear in my hip and I was in excruciating pain (but then it turned out not to be a labral tear).

Is there any chance the labral tissue will repair itself over time (since you’re not in pain you could wait a little?). I can’t remember what I read on the issue, but I do not think it will. IIRC it’s a stubborn injury.

The only other thing I’ve heard of doing is some sort of red blood cell injection (they use your own blood) but I’ve heard there isn’t much proof of success on that front either (can’t remember the details on this and may be calling it the wrong thing).

Been there-done that three years ago. 3 significant labral tears in right shoulder along with other assorted issues. I waited entirely too long since I was caring for my husband. Was in excruciating pain. The surgery was painful but successful. Be prepared to sleep upright for awhile and brace yourself for a great deal of physical therapy. I have no desire to repeat the process but have no regrets in having the surgery.

I been able to participate in activities that were off limits to me for over ten years (yoga, woodworking, lifting,etc).

My daughter had it done when she was almost 16. While they were in there, they tightened up her bicep.
A couple of weeks recovery. We made sure she had shirts she could put on and take off easily.
About 4 months of PT after.

Wow, that is extensive PT time. I figure it is better to get the surgery done now since I’m not getting any younger. The things that are the most painful are trying to sleep on my right side and doing push-ups etc. Any other words of wisdom?

@SouthFloridaMom9 - my D has labral tears in her hips and she is in pain if she runs too much! The Ortho Dr said that from the x-ray he could tell my glenoid (socket of the shoulder) was irregularly shaped. Not sure how that will effect the outcome of the surgery and if it that is why I am not in excruciating pain.

PT started off twice a week for a couple of weeks, dropped to once a week, and then once every 2 weeks after 2 months.
The bicep tightening was an extra layer of complexity.

Family member had to have it done twice, two years apart. The first time was from a fall playing a sport. Second time was a skiing injury. This is not the sort of thing that can repair itself. The doc said that the next time there will need to be bone taken from another part of the body to fix it. -I don’t know the details about the next repair just that it seemed to be a forgone conclusion and that the repair would be extreme since there “isn’t much left to work with.” Sounds awful!

H had it–the ortho saw his MRI and him on Sunday and operated on Thursday. While he was doing the repair, he also removed a bone spur on H’s shoulder. H started PT on Saturday–2 days after surgery. He’s had 24 sessions of physical therapy, 2x/week and just was approved for an additional 16 sessions!

The first few days and weeks were toughest for him. He’s still working to recover strength and range of motion. He waited a long time before mentioning it to the docs. Fortunately, he’s in pretty decent physical condition so is recovering nicely, tho slower than he’d like.

We are happy that between Medicare A and B and private insurance, there have been no copays for him!

I have the surgery scheduled Dec 12th and I’ll return to work the beginning of January. I scheduled the surgery out so my D’s will be home to help around the house and decorate for the Holidays. It is pretty cold and snowy here in the winter and my workouts are inside but I love the outdoors here in the summers. I should hopefully be up to speed by June. My H will be able to help as well when he isn’t working. My insurance deductibles are met for this year but I suspect I will have to have PT in January and I’m sure I will quickly meet by deductible.

OP, sorry to hear of your injury & hope the surgery goes well.

Since you will effectively be one handed for a little while, I thought I would provide a few tips

  • learn about sticky keys for your computer . This means you can press the shift or control key before the next key instead of having to do them together
  • if you do lots of typing, see if you can get a voice recognition program like Dragon
  • straightening irons are great for styling hair one handed & it doesn't mean you have to make your hair straight, curls etc are possible
  • get some non slip matting in bulk from your hardware shop. You can put it under plates, chopping boards, anything, so it doesn't run away from you - it should be quite cheap.
  • dressing choose items that don't have buttons. For the short time your arm will be out, it is probably not worth the frustration of trying to learn how to do them with one hand.
  • forget about pantyhose & tights,
  • upper underwear, it is possible to put a bra on completely one handed but it does require some mobility of the bad shoulder. Let me know if you want details.

All the very best for your surgery and recovery

Our dancer daughter had labral tear surgery in her shoulder due to trauma, which caused repeated subluxing. Six months later, the subluxing returned. She continued with PT for a year or more until the limitation of motion range got too bad. Just prior to scheduling a second surgery, she had PRP therapy (platelet rich plasma therapy) with another doctor who is well versed in it. The week following the PRP, the orthopedic surgeon said her shoulder was no longer subluxing and she didn’t need surgery after all.

She has also had surgery for a labral tear in her hip after doing 6 months of specialized PT in an attempt to avoid surgery. The orthopedic surgeon recommended surgery because a bone spur was causing the tear. About two months after surgery, her hip pain began again. She had moved states and it took a while to find a hip specialist. Turns out she actually has hip dysplasia and it was a bad idea to have had her labrum tear ‘cleaned up’. Now she has even less labrum to hold her acetabulum stable.

So, in her extensive experience with hip and shoulder joints, we have learned that a torn labrum is a symptom, not a root cause. Thus, in dealing with a diagnosis of a torn labrum, go one further and figure out why the labrum is torn. What is the mechanism of injury? Once you get to the root issue, you’ll have a better chance for a devising/choosing a good plan.

This same daughter has also had two surgeries on an ankle for subluxing peroneal tendon. Her surgeon was talking about a third surgery when daughter found the doctor who did her PRP on her shoulder eventually. He also does prolo-therapy., which he used very successfully on her ankle. To date (and she’s going on 5+ years), no need for any more ankle surgeries or shoulder surgeries.

Although it is not a long-term solution for daughter’s hip issues (she needs a total hip replacement sooner than later due to the dysplasia status), her doctor uses prolo and PRP therapies (not at the same time) to help her manage her hip issues for now.

I have had prolo-therapy on my very wicked SI joints and it was stunning the difference before and after. So I definitely am a believer, if you get a practitioner who really knows how to use it and when.

I agree with treemaven. You want to be sceptical about labral surgery of the hip or the shoulder. Just because it is torn, it doesn’t mean it needs surgery. Most of us probably have some sort of labral tear in our shoulders due to normal degenerative changes. As a swimmer, I know that I do. I use PT as a way of stabilizing my shoulder so that I can keep on swimming and not have surgery. A friend of mine who had labral surgery of her shoulder felt the PT cured her, not the surgery. Certainly having surgery because you are “not getting any younger” is no reason to have it. My advice is to go with PT first. If the pain continues then consider surgery. If you have decided on the surgery, get a second opinion.

No, the labrum will not heal on it’s own, but removing cartilage, even torn, is not always a good thing. Read the literature about repairing meniscus tears of the knee. Removing degenerative tears does more harm than good.

Thank you @treemaven - PRP treatment was what I was thinking of but couldn’t recall the name.

I’ve had shoulder surgery and ongoing shoulder issues. For the hair you can buy a stand that holds a hair dryer.

My son had a torn labrum as a sophomore or junior in high school. It was from horsing around making a video for a class. We/he opted for PT instead. The surgery would have meant missing the fall football season. It’s been 6? years and he does not complain about his shoulder.

Thank you everyone for your information. I will look into PRP therapy.