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Reverse Shoulder Replacement: Recovery process

Joint Replacements | Last Active: Oct 13, 2023 | Replies (138)
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@ljgraham166

Had totally replacement in shoulder ,mri showed no rotator cuff tears just severe arthritis. so a reverse wasn't an option. I never did get total pain relief after surgery. Done May 6,2022. Went back to see ortho few weeks ago. Took x-rays said my shoulder was dislocated .asked if I fell etc, told him no nothing to cause an injury, never felt like I had full control of my biceps . So now they want to take all the hardware out and redue revision doing a reverse.replacement. needless to say I'm scared to death.i am 74 and to me surgery at my age is risky. Did find out my insurance will cover medical transport to pt so that's a relief. I think I started to drive to soon, make sure you rest it the whole 6 weeks and exercises daily,

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Replies to "Had totally replacement in shoulder ,mri showed no rotator cuff tears just severe arthritis. so a..."
Chris Trout, Volunteer Mentor | @artscaping | Mar 21, 2023

Good evening to both of you, @ljgraham166 and @tfarizona. These are very serious issues and I think you will find that Connect, because of its sharing mission, can help us all understand the options better.

So, the first response is to @tfarizona. I had an rTSR 13 years ago and have never wished that I had elected a TSR. Most important....after the post-surgery recovery I have never had any pain or discomfort. Do I wish I had a little better ROM....yes I do, but the damage to my shoulder from a fall down the mountain was way too extensive. I consider myself to be very fortunate.

And now to think about a response to @ljgraham166. Whew......you are dealing with a decision that is quite concerning to me. Why? Because my major issue was a dislocation from the fall. Although the insurance company didn't want to cover the cost my surgeon worked very hard to get them to come around. The insurance company insisted that I go through two rotator cuff surgeries (one was a cadaver attempt) and opioids followed by acupuncture before they would approve the rTSR. Because this was a relatively new surgery (originated in France) they wanted the patients to be much older so they wouldn't have to cover any repairs. You will understand.

Now...here is the great news. You can now have a reverse with a custom-made replacement made expressly to fit your body. Using imaging, a replacement can be designed that is precisely for you. When I had mine, there were a couple of different sizes of replacement hardware and one of the engineers actually flew to CA to be there during the surgery to help with the "fit".

The result is a bit of grumbling and groaning of the mechanics and a reduced ROM along with the freedom from pain. I'll take it!!!!

I hope this gives you both some input from an 81-year-old who is very grateful to France....to my very supportive surgeon, and to the advancements that have already been made on an amazing surgery.

Please let me know if you have additional questions. I would like to know what you choose and how things work out for both of you. If I was close to you I would be there to do some hand-holding.

May you be free of suffering and the causes of suffering.
Chris

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