An Update on My Post-Surgery Efforts
Well it’s been two weeks since I had surgery to repair my shoulder and things are finally starting to settle down. The surgery was labeled a success so far, although time will tell if it took and if I will be pain free. As of right now I am far from pain-free, given the fact that in order for me to return to work and push papers I have to be medication free….let me tell ya it sucks for sure, but what can ya do, got bills to pay. Now on the home front things are not as good as they could be, can’t sleep, can’t really eat, and I am on edge alot of the times. Luckily for me though my wife has been a pure angel through it all, or at least she puts on a good facade, either way I could not have done this without her.
So here is my time line to recovery, six weeks in an imobilizer, another two weeks in a sling, then its rubber band training for strength and flexibility. Should be able to resume normal activities in 4 to 6 months.
The surgery so you know was to repair what is called a SLAP tear. A specific type of labral tear is called a SLAP tear; this stands for Superior Labrum from Anterior to Posterior. The SLAP tear occurs at the point where the tendon of the biceps muscle inserts on the labrum. Common reasons for a SLAP tear include:
- Fall onto an outstretched hand
- Repetitive overhead actions (throwing)
- Lifting a heavy object
My labrum was torn in thre seperate locations and was repaired in the following way…A SLAP repair is performed arthroscopically using sutures to reattach the torn labrum back to the bone. The steps of a SLAP repair are:
- 1. The SLAP tear is identified and excess tissue is removed.
- 2. A small hole is drilled into the bone where the labrum has torn off (the SLAP tear).
- 3. An anchor is placed into this hole; attached to the anchor is a strong suture.
- 4. The suture is used to tie the torn labrum snuggly against the bone.
So as you can see its not too much fun, but will be well worth it in the end. I will post some pics and what not tomorrow if I remember them. So until then we will see ya later…
August 29, 2008 at 10:35 am
well…how did you do it?? lifting too heavy?? falling?? or throwing a ball around??? oh, my…. how horrible, but how wonderful that you have a wife that is helping you recover….awwwww….
November 11, 2008 at 11:49 pm
Dude i have been diagnosed with SLAP. I only found out about it 4 days back, but i have been consulting a lot of Docs for past 2 months. I got it injured while heavy lifting. My concern is will i be able to get back to heavy lifting? Has your shoulder recovered? Are you lifting weights now? How long has it been since you did the surgery?
December 12, 2008 at 10:41 am