Reverse shoulder operation

Glad you are on the mend Bob. Do you know what he actually did to make the repair? I did not realize I torn mine completely off over a year ago that is why they shrunk. Apparently other muscles get stronger and compensate somewhat so I was still able to do pullups and any kind of pulling exercises. I just could not push anything over head or any other pushing exercises. Then about a month age I fell off my bike in soft sand and that tore the bicep tendon and pulled it out of joint when I put my arm down to break the fall. I have an appointment next wed to review options. The reverse shoulder seems very extreme that is why I asked here hoping there may be another option.

After reading the info here, I see my situation does not apply to your query.

I went off a ladder a few years ago, (Dec 2015) put my arm out to stop the fall and I severely damaged my rotator cuff. According to the doctors there are 4 main tendons holding things together in there. I tore 3 of them, 2 completely off and a 3rd halfway through, plus one for my bicep that was not found until the surgery.

I didn't go to the doctor right away, being a typical male thinking it was just a minor sprain and it will heal itself... I was very wrong.

It never healed, only got worse to the point I could not do daily living functions with my right arm without a lot of pain. I finally went to the doctor in early 2018, seeking some relief from all the pain. It got so bad I couldn't even feed myself with my right arm, had to use my left. I had major trouble sleeping too from the constant heavy aching.

Mine was a work related injury, but WCB threw me under the bus and used every excuse to deny my claim, so I was on my own. Still had to work and make a living, that was tough.

I wound up at the Sports Medicine Center at the University of Calgary, and saw a totally amazing specialist there. He works on a lot of pro athletes so he really knows his stuff. Long wait for surgery, but I had it on Oct 30, 2019. Doc told me it was one of the worst damaged shoulders he has ever seen. He said it was a real mess and that he couldn't promise a successful repair, but would do his best. And do his best he did! He told me after that it was a complete success.

Fast forward to now, 10 1/2 months later, it is doing very well. I cannot lift my arm over my head yet, but it is coming along well, getting better all the time. Range of motion is still limited, but the pain is gone. I can function quite well again, just cannot lift anything over my head. My strength is returning, I can do things with my arm down lower, such as cranking my TT off the hitch.

I cannot say enough good about the surgeon at the U of C. He was amazing.

Kevin explained the procedure very well. I had rotator cup surgery in 2003 with 4 Titanium moly bolts reattaching the top part of the cuff. Since then 3 ligaments were completely torn and retracted. In addition my bicep tendon is partially torn and pulled out of position. I asked about putting a spacer in for the retracted tendons and the Dr said it is possible but if the tissue is too soft it will only tear out again. They use thick skin from a cadaver for this spacer. So he was suggesting a reverse shoulder as a safer alternative. I guess it is a fairly new procedure within the last 10 years.

A good friend had this procedure about five years ago and was very pleased with the results. He also had the conventional surgery on the other shoulder. The only setback with the non-conventional method was that when he was in rehab, the therapist over extended the shoulder muscle and tore some of the tissue which resulted in a second surgery to repair. OUCH!

Reverse shoulder replacement is for those with large, irreparable rotator cuff tears that have consistently demonstrated poor outcomes from “traditional” shoulder replacement due to loss of the stability provided by these muscles.

In the normal shoulder joint, the “ball” is at the top of the arm bone, and the “socket” is in the shoulder. After reverse shoulder replacement, the ball and socket are reversed, which results in a more stable joint. You MUST have an intact and functional deltoid muscle for a reverse shoulder replacement to work, though.

Also, the term “socket” should not be taken literally, as it does not surround the “ball” as you would see in the mechanical world. It’s actually a very shallow cup, and the stability of the joint is totally reliant on the many muscles surrounding it being intact.

Reverse Shoulder Replacement

I know more than I want to know about this procedure due to having multiple irreparable rotator cuff injuries (total separation) in both shoulders, and having torn the deltoid in my right shoulder about 4 years ago. Fortunately, the deltoid was surgically repaired, and I have almost full range of motion in both shoulders, although not totally pain free. Ive been told that if I should ever need shoulder replacement surgery, the only type that would work for me is a reverse.

:):)

Wish there were some replies. My surgeon suggests that procedure for both of mine. Ive done 2 knee replacements, but im concerned about this too.

Not sure what you mean by reverse shoulder operation. Can you explain?

I had shoulder surgery Oct 30 last year, but mine was to reattach 3 tendons torn off the bone.