Clarebabes

I'm having Arthroscopic Excision of the Acromioclavicular Joint on Monday, happy days Basically they're chopping a bit of one of my bones off and sucking the residue out through keyhole surgery.

Anyone else had anything like this? How long did it take you to drive/recover?

Consultant says 3 weeks off work, so that's what I'm working to.

Glad when it's all over to be fair, I've been living with pain for over 6 months now and riding any type of bike is becoming very painfull indeed.... though I do have a 30-mile charity ride on Sunday to look forward to

Snazy

Recovery from any surgery can vary widely.
Age, job, recreational activities, health etc will all play a part.

Fingers crossed it will be a quicky for you.

Got 7 weeks left til my next op, probably followed by Xmas off work (damn!)

The keyhole part should hopefully help with recovery, but it depends at what point in recovery you can return to normal life.

Clarebabes

Thanks Snaz, I am apparently going to have a block, which means I will wake up with no feeling whatsoever in my arm! That's going to be a bit frightening. No bike riding for 4-6 weeks!

Snazy

Im just hoping my next op is NOT with a tourniquet!
Im sure you will be happy to wake with no sensation for a while at least. How long is that meant to last?
Having a general is a good thing too, my next one is under local again, holding your hand still while you are cramping up from a tourniquet, while they do surgery lol

If its NHS make sure you are firm about waiting physio asap too, and get some goot exercises to mobilise the joint as soon as you possibly can.

Alg

I haven't but my daughter has.
This is the "before" pic. Unfortunately the "after" pic looks similar except a few hole scars. She had a tendon/ligament removed from one of her wrists and that was supposed to hold things in place along with various staples/pins etc. It didn't work and she had such a painful time that she's now too frightened to go back and get it done properly. I hope yours works out better. If anyone mentions getting it done in Peterborough, decline the offer.
Oh yeah. The lump's name is Rupert!! She turns her head round and kisses it. Kids eh?

Snazy

Ouchie !

Clarebabes

Having it done privately thank God, so physio won't be a problem, except I'm going to run out of money soon, so will have to pay for part of it myself - policy states only £1000 of outpatient care. The MRI scan I had cost £350, the consultant £100 for about 10 mins (or so it seems!) and physio £40 per 1/2 hour, so I've used quite a bit already.

As long as I am no longer in much pain, I will be OK though

Snazy

yeah main thing with physio is being told what you need to be doing. Unless its actual ultrasound, accupuncture etc, you just need them for guidance, so you can minimise visits.
I know all about escalating costs of private physio!

Puff The Magic Wagon!

iTrader: (2)

I have a simillar injury to that - grade 3 sublimated AC joint. Got knocked off my m/bike by some idiot pulling a u-turn from the side of the road. Hurt like hell. Found that for a long time I used to compensate for my shoulder by tensing my neck, which led to back/neck problems

My GP turned out to be (strangely) quite knowledgeable about this type of industry, it was his speciality. We discussed surgery, which consisted of drilling through the collarbone and into the shoulder then inserting some bits of steel wire. He said the problem would be that they might snap one day. We ended up leaving it.

After about 3-4 years it finally stopped hurting regularly though sometimes with repetitive arm action (say painting a wall) it can ache even now (15 years on), otherwise I have a full and un-fettered movement.

It is now a good party trick

zip106

Had my shoulder done in 1998.
My ligaments got stretched from doing lots of marathon canoeing and so my shoulder became unstable to the point of near dislocation quite regularly.

Anyway, it was done via keyhole and the surgeon 'heat shrunk' my ligaments back onto the bones - a bit like chucking a steak onto a hot BBQ when it shrinks from hitting the hot grill.

In all I was told to have 12 weeks off work, but that included physio.
As I'm self-employed I only managed to have 8 weeks off. (and no driving for 6 weeks )

Oh, I still get periodic pain from my shoulder but it's not unstable now.

ScoobyDoo555

Got to have tendon work done on my shoulder (lots of outdoor activity stuff when I was younger!) - only at the steroid injection stage at the moment.....
Got to have the tendons injected.... If (when) it doesn't work, gotta go a bit deeper and go digging

Good luck with yours though

Clarebabes

I had the injection too, and the pain relief was instant! I couldn't believe it, next day I got up and felt great. It lasted a week Then it was back to square one...

Alg, that looks awful, shame it didn't work out for your daughter. (Couldn't see the pic at work earlier!)

Leslie

I had to have my hip rebuilt when it was seriously smashed up. I am lucky in that I heal quickly and was out of hospital in 5 days. no real pain after the operation anyway.

Hope it goes as easily for you.

Les

Clarebabes

Going in in a bit..... At least I will hopefully be pain free in the future, which is why I'm putting myself through this. I did a 30 mile off-road bike ride yesterday and it doesn't seem too bad today.... Is it too late to back out?

Will update tomorrow.... Typing with one hand!

Clarebabes

Back home now, block still working, so no great pain. Bit groggy though!

Alg

Glad to hear you're back home. Enjoy the block.

rallycol

iTrader: (4)

Make sure you have the pain killers handy for when the block wears off ,as you will feel you have been kicked by a horse!!

Clarebabes

Has worn off! Don't feel very well now