Well, I think it’s safe to say that I’ve had my fair share of drama with my left shoulder. I’ve been struggling with chronic shoulder pain for over a year. I’ve done anti-inflammatory medication (Aleve), cortisone injection, 12 physical therapy sessions, 4 x-rays, and an MRI in search of a solution. It improved after the injection and physical therapy, which at least allowed me to regain full range of motion. But once I resumed my normal exercise routine over the summer, it got gradually worse all over again. Just before and right after I had the MRI, I saw an orthopedic surgeon. He informed me that I have Calcific Tendinitis. Basically, my injured rotator cuff tendon has begun to fill in the muscle tissue with calcium, as if trying to form a bone. As my body tries to reabsorb the calcium, it creates one of the most painful conditions found in the shoulder. Its presence causes inflammation of surrounding tissues, and it just gets worse. The surgeon said the MRI showed that the calcium deposit is significantly larger than the original x-ray showed it to be. In fact, the deposit takes up nearly the whole tendon. So now I’m scheduled for arthroscopic shoulder surgery on November 15th.
He said my bursa is so inflamed that it has to be completely removed (bursectomy). Then they will break through the tendon wall and shave out the calcium deposit, making sure to extract the fragments so they don’t cause further irritation. But because my calcium deposit is so large (up to 1.5 cm), it will leave a major void in the tendon that is equivalent to a large rotator cuff tear. It’s too large for a side-to-side suture repair, so he will have to do an anchored suture repair. With that, he will drill 3 anchors into the bone and tie interconnected sutures among them to stretch and secure the remaining tendon to the bone (interlinked suture anchor rotator cuff repair). The surgery will be performed under general anesthesia, as well as a peripheral nerve block with an attached pump that will keep my whole left arm completely numb for 3 days. I will have a follow-up with the surgeon 10 days after surgery. Then I’ll have 12 weeks of physical therapy once a week with additional PT exercises to do at home every day. It can take up to 6 months to heal fully, and it will be at least 3 months before I will be able to lift my arm above my head. Yikes! This is going to be a bit of an ordeal to recover from. Getting dressed will be challenging. Washing my long hair will probably require assistance for a while. I’ve watched other people’s stories of recovery on YouTube, and women say that getting bras that fasten in the front is key if you hope to get one on at all. I suddenly realized that my whole approach to daily activity will be affected for quite some time post-surgery. I guess I should seriously consider putting up the Christmas tree a couple of weeks early or else I may not be able to get it up at all!
The upside to this whole thing is that the doctor assures me I’ll be pain-free at the end of it all. No more chronic pain. That’s something to look forward to!
If you’re curious, the first patient in this video had the same kind of surgery and suture anchor repair that I’ll be having. Her results 3 months post-surgery were amazing! That’s exactly what I’m hoping for!
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