Reverse Shoulder Replacement Nonlinear recovery

[Pianoplyr]

I have a complicated medical history on the right side. I had ACDF fusion years ago with no problems. After suffering with thoracic outlet syndrome I had a scalenectomy and first rib resection.

After many year of playing the piano and playing competitive tennis I developed shoulder issues. I had a full thickness tear of my right rotator cuff in 2013. Surgery was performed including a distal clavicle resection. I knew something wasn’t right fairly soon after my surgery, but the doctor did not listen to me and sent me to the spine doctor. Finally, the spine doctor suggested I see a different shoulder doctor. Tests determined that the surgery failed. During the second surgery they found the sutures were loose and had pulled through the tissues. I felt better after the surgery but not 100%.

I moved to another state and the doctor did a third surgery to remove scar tissue and repair the bicep tendon. For the next several years I was able to be active, but last summer started to have significant pain in my shoulder. After months of PT and injections including PRP, we decided the best decision was to have shoulder replacemeant.

The surgery was done at the end of September and was seemingly successful. After one month I started PT was passive range of motion exercises. I started to develop a lot of pain with any movement. The doctor had me discontinue PT because he thought I strained the deltoid. Following that I developed a large hematoma on my arm, over the deltoid, the inner part of the arm between the shoulder and the elbow. I had a CT scan to rule out a fracture, it was negative. The doctor thought it still could be a hairline fracture and deltoid tear so I went back in the sling for 2 weeks. With no improvemeant I was back in the sling again for a month. After this time period I once again developed a large hematoma, very big and purple, in the same location. I continue to experience significant pain.

What I am wondering is if anyone has heard of this type of thing occurring. My son is in the medical field as our many of our friends. No one can find anything related to this in case studies. I am having another MRI tomorrow.

Sorry for the length of this post, this is actually the ‘short’ version.

 

[Layla]

Hello and Welcome to BoneSmart!
I am not familiar with shoulder issues, but want to welcome you to the forum. Hopefully someone will stop by soon to comment. You have a long history. I am sorry for all you've endured and for the pain you're struggling with. I wish you the best with your MRI tomorrow and hope it leads to a resolution.
@Pianoplyr

 

[Pianoplyr]

Hi and thanks for the welcome. I’m also hoping for answers to be followed by solutions. This is truly the gift that keeps on giving.

 

[Pianoplyr]

I had MRI’s of both the shoulder and cspine, in addition to the CT scan. My prosthesis is fine. The doctor said that the large hematomas are due to a blood vessel leaking. He thinks this should resolve and not continue to occur. There is no internal bleeding, this appears to be subcutaneous.

I seem to be in the 1 to 2% that experience torn/strained deltoid following rsr. I started a steroid dose pack yesterday and the pain is better. The doctor keeps stressing resting the arm, which I have been doing for months but will continue to do.

I’ll have an emg on Monday to see if there are nerve issues since I have some issues with the cspine.

I’m very happy to not the the intense pain that I was experiencing. It was especially bad after the MRI because I had to lay partially on my side with my arm extended flat on the table.

 

[Pianoplyr]

I had the emg on Monday and results are completely normal. No nerve damage from the cspine either. This is a real head scratcher because there seems to be no reason for the pain and spasms. I have an appointment with the shoulder doctor and I’ll ask about suprascapular neuropathy . Perhaps it’s not visible through the emg. I plan to ask for a referral for PT. They stopped it earlier because of all the issues I was having. My muscles are very tight and no doubt there is muscle atrophy at almost 6 months out from surgery.

 

[Pianoplyr]

I haven’t posted in a while as I was going through the process to determine why I’m having continued pain. Since I have had a fusion at C5-7, I saw the spine doctor. He ordered an MRI and EMG. The emg was fine and the MRI showed a small disc bulge. The doctor said it was very minor and would not contribute to my issues.

I also have had surgery for TOS. I contacted my vascular doctor. Last week I had an ultrasound. The results were good, no blockage in veins or arteries. The doctor said TOS wasn’t causing my pain. He did read the plan my shoulder surgeon suggested and thinks it is good and reasonable. He said if it were him, he’d go with it.

So tomorrow I’m having yet another surgery, hopefully the 5th time is the charm. It will be arthroscopic. The doctor will do debridement, decompression of the subacromial space with partial acromioplasty, revise humeral and glenoid component and do a neurolysis of the suprascapular nerve.

I hope my case doesn’t scare others waiting for surgery, I had a very badly failed rotator cuff surgery and distal clavicle resection in 2013 that created a lot of problems. I knew immediately that something wasn’t right but no one listened to me for a long time. Finally, they did a correction and found the sutures were loose and had pulled through the tissues. My clavicle was also crooked and I had boney protrusions. I’m hoping tomorrow will bring relief, eventually, and that I’ll be able to lay down without severe pain.

 

[Markieamark]

Pianoplyr,

Take care and good luck to you!
Stay in touch.

Thoughts are with you and your shoulder.

Mark