Rotator cuff surgery

[H2Power]

Diagnosed with medium size tear in left shoulder rotator cuff, surgery is recommended. Doc says 40-50% chance tear will be bigger in 2 years if nothing done. Success rate better with
younger patient which at 62 I guess I still qualify.

So curious to hear from those who have had rotator cuff surgery ... are you happy with results? How long were you out? I use left arm to lift and lower trolling motor so I'll need to be patient getting back on water. I'm planning on scheduling surgery for mid November and hope to fish at least part of spring next year.

Thanks

[Muleheaded]

I had rotator cuff surgery on my left shoulder in 2021 at age 67. Hope your results are good as good as mine. My suggestion is to work hard at PT after surgery, and continue recommended home exercises. My pain was gone immediately after surgery, but strength and flexibility took longer to return than I thought. All is good now. Good luck.

[Okie Poke]

I have torn rotator cuff but have elected to not do surgery. I have very slight problem with range of motion. Not enough problem to have surgery. Yes, I can feel it at the end of an all day fishing trip, but not enough pain to have surgery. Shoulder surgery is a booger.

[creekchub]

I heard a doctor recently describe rotator cuff surgery is like taking wet, tissue paper and letting it dry and see how long the tissue paper will last. My father who was in his mid-70s was convinced to not go to the rotator surgery route, and instead did a reverse shoulder operation just do to better and higher success rate.

[n2ratfishin]

https://www.bbcboards.net/showthread...771&highlight=

I tried to post my surgery experience. I thought I knew exactly when I tore my shoulder, but the surgeon and physical therapist both said it’s normally just the straw that broke the camels back because big tears get worse over time.

[Hoot]

Have had a surgery on each shoulder many years a part the first one was after a severe dislocation with a compression fracture when I was 28 but back in those days just kept it immobilized for a month or so then had you do a few exercises to loosen it up.

Eleven years later started having all sorts of problems with my arm going numb plus severe pain they thought it was a pinched nerve in my neck from a bulging disc but the Neurologist happened to notice the poor range of motion in my shoulder and sent me to an Orthopedic Surgeon. The Rotator Cuff Surgery fixed the problem the rehab was a lot of work and painful but not worse than what I had been feeling the results were worth it.

One on my left 10 years ago the surgery was so much less invasive the Rehab took about the same amount hard work and time as you only get out of it what you put into.

Know several individuals that took short cuts on rehab and started doing stuff way too soon ended up not being able to reach up to get a Beer Glass off the second shelf of the kitchen cabinet.

[jimsch]

10 years after repair, I'm close to being the way it was before surgery.

[artdevilish]

Had 3 of the 4 tendons completely torn and 2 were retracted. Waited 6 years before surgery. 8 screws and a lot of pain. I worked very hard post surgery and was full strength 12 months after. I was also 46

[mean_dean]

Getting mine fixed next month, rotator cuff and the tendon that holds the bicep to the shoulder. I'll let you know how it goes.

[kailor]

MRI on Wednesday for left shoulder...

[bass57348]

Have 2 Merit badges for that. Getting the Left one done again in June. 6 Mos. until they turned me loose. Do all the PT, and follow their restrictions!

[ColdSVT]

A few things on rotators cuffs...

Sometimes the mri says tear and when we get in there there is no tear so we do an acromioplasty and move on...now that said sometime the mri says impingment syndrome and we in thete and its torn lol

Now once in a while we get in there for a rotator cuff and we find osteoarthritis so severe a total shoulder (traditional or reverse is warrented. In those cases we will still do an acromioplasty and then close and schedule the total shoukder replacement.

That being said...a torn rotator cuff is no joke on the recovery side...pt is important and you will be damn sore...but it works out well in the end if the pt works hard and is in good health overall

[chwebmaker]

keep in mind your shoulder will never be the same as it was before. I had rotator cuff surgery in my 50's and it took 1.5 years to recover. Shoulder is not the same but its better than having the tear.

[Crankinh20]

I’m going through same I completely ruptured bicep , left shoulder has torn and debris and arthritis so now I need shoulder replacement no way to clean it up. 63 and not looking forward to it.
J. D

[sflam123]

I had rotator cuff surgery for a completely detached tendon in September. FWIW, the term “rotator cuff surgery” can include a lot of different aspects of surgery on the shoulder, and the recovery times for the surgery can vary by what was done and your age. In my case, my surgeon told me ABSOLUTELY NO FISHING for 4 months. I went to rehab 2 days/week for 4 months, and did the exercises prescribed daily. Thanks mostly to Mother Nature, I didn’t start fishing until latter February, but since then I’ve had little to no problem with my shoulder. In my case, the recovery from surgery was MUCH less painful than the pain I was experiencing trying to fish with the torn tendon, but I cannot stress enough the importance of going to PT after surgery and doing the exercises as prescribed at home.

[Kodiak16]

Surgeons sell surgery.

[H2Power]

Surgeons sell surgery.

Very likely. But I knocked on his door, he didn't knock on mine.

Sounds like the rotator cuff is a common injury. Thanks for all the feedback.

[Basshunter67]

I had bad damage with my left shoulder they spent 5 1/2 to repair the damage and about 9 month of heeling and therapy I was back bowling tournaments after and the surgery was 2018 and I bowled 30 tournaments with no pain and I'm back to 98 % and I'm averaging 224 and I'm 67 and have no plans to stop
And my wife and I fish 3 times a week.

[PickensTJ]

I've had rotator cuff surgery and a double knee replacement. PT is the key. Do the PT. Do it yourself on the non-scheduled days. Yes, of course, it hurts. But, I would do both surgeries again tomorrow for the pain they replaced. I lay in bed every night without pain. For me, sleeping with a bad shoulder was terrible. Life is so much better now.

[JerryT]

Did everyone used to just live with torn rotators ? Seems like a booming business these days and I don’t remember hearing a whole lot about it back in the day