Sunday, November 20, 2016

One-Armed Bandit

I doubt I'll post next week, and there are unlikely to be any zoo visits for a week or two unless a hunk of time miraculously opens up by a move to a 36-hour-day.

On Friday I'm due to have a right shoulder replacement operation, so my right arm will be out of commission for weeks - no driving for 8 weeks. Help!

If there is muscle damage to the shoulder, such as the rotator cuff tear I had repaired a couple of years ago, it can aggravate or even cause arthritis, but a like-for-like shoulder replacement is not suitable. Instead they perform a reverse replacement to relieve pressure on the muscles that are used in moving the arm. Sadly the range of movement may continue to be limited. (At present I cannot raise either arm behind my back, so the left shoulder will probably be on the list soon. Good thing I had my boobs reduced, as I cannot reach behind to fasten a bra! But their prior weight did the shoulders no good at all.)

So what is a reverse shoulder replacement?

Hang on to your breakfast.

They swap the position of the ball and socket. Here's a little picture to illustrate before and after.


The surgeons are also keeping open the possibility of resurfacing the joint, but that won't improve the recovery period or constraints on movement.

After surgery I believe they will pretty much tether my arm across my chest. I have a horrible feeling I will be unable to reach behind me to undo it when necessary because of the poorly left shoulder. So the first thing I am likely to do when I get home is either cut it off (one-handed of course) or get the friend who's coming to look after the cats to remove it for me.

All this trouble for an operation that might not even make the pain go away or the movement improve. I'm so happy.

2 comments:

  1. OUCH! I wish you all the best of luck with the surgery! As for fastening a bra, I could never reach behind me. I always fasten it in front and then turn it around to the back.

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  2. Sadly, JoJo, my waist is too big for this to work, and I''m permanently too hot and sweaty anyway to slide anything round me! Luckily since the reduction, I can wear stretchy all-in-one crop top style bras. Of course, I won't even be able to get one of those over my shoulder post-op, so it's lucky I can get by braless these days!

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