This is a good question because it’s kind of nuanced. In many shoulder replacements, we use the rotator cuff and four tendons. But the one in the front is called the subscapularis. Think of that as a tendon. That’s the door to the shoulder. But we must open the door, insert the shoulder replacement, and…
I’m happy to tell you that contemporary shoulder replacements last way longer than ten years. The older style implants that were put in 15 to 20 years ago, yes, because of the plastic used, the design of the implants, and a myriad of other factors. There was around a ten-year survival. But with the newer…
They’re incredibly rare, at least in my practice. It’s way less than 1%. But I’ve never had an actual nerve injury or seen one. I’ve seen one of the patients who referred me to outside surgeons. I have seen carpal tunnel and cubital tunnel-type things where you get swelling down the arm, which puts some…
This can be a lot of reasons in our practice. Specializing in shoulders, seeing thousands for years. The three most common diagnoses for shoulder pain are, number one, rotator cuff pathology, which is tendinitis or tearing of the rotator cuff. Which one is it? You don’t know until you come in and see us. We…
My practice is purely shoulder surgery, and I perform shoulder replacement, rotator cuff repair, and instability surgery. Number one, surgery is cuff repair. That’s the one that tends to have the most discomfort after surgery and takes the longest to get better. Now, that being said, we’re radically better than we used to be. Contemporary…
If patients just want to do a really simple home program, the core exercise that I give them is one where you link your hands together and then come to the top of your head. That’s it. We do that immediately after surgery, on the first day. We want you to start doing this. You…
Do you lose muscle after shoulder surgery? Yes. You’re gonna lose some muscle because you’re just not gonna lift with your arm for a couple of months to let whatever we did heal. We start early active motion. People don’t get stiff after surgery. But you still need to wait a couple of months to…
It’s not. I specialize in shoulder replacements. I do 250 a year. Out of all the surgeries that I do on the shoulder, it’s the least painful in the early postoperative phase. During those first couple weeks, most of our patients come in after surgery 10 to 12 days out and feel better than before…
The answer is yes. In 99% of surgeon’s practice, the subscapularis tendon in the front of the shoulder is cut and then reattached. It’s part of your rotator cuff. The biceps tendon is typically released as well. The long head, biceps. We have a newer technique where we don’t have to cut the subscapularis, leave…
Typically, what they want to know most is what recovery will be like. How quickly can I use my arm? Right away. How quickly can I drive? Right away. When am I going to be able to get back to all my activities in life? Roughly three months. What are my restrictions after surgery? Don’t…
