Preparation

I had a date, so now what? I decided to do some research to see what other people, people who had had the surgery themselves, had to say about their experiences. It's not that I didn't trust the Doctor, it's just that I know surgeons & physical therapists have  unique points of view.

The surgeon sees you on the day of surgery, before and after, a week later and then a few weeks after that and that's all he sees. In other words, he sees you before surgery, after surgery, while you are still drugged up, a week later, after you've had a chance to recover and then a few weeks later when you've had even more time to heal.

Similarly, the PTs see you on the days you go to see them, which is weeks after surgery. They don't see the day to day living that goes on when you're home. I was hearing that the surgery was no big deal from the surgeon and had heard from physical therapists in the past that the recovery is very painful. I wanted to know more about the day to day life between seeing the surgeon and the PT.

I wanted as much information as possible so I would know what I was in for. After a lot of digging I was only able to find one skiing message board where people were offering anecdotes about what they experienced after shoulder surgery. After reading through a lengthy thread that spanned over two years I came up with the following helpful facts:

1. Slip on shoes. You will not be able to tie your own shoes after surgery so if you plan on going outside for anything you will need something you can put on by yourself.


2. After the surgery, don't wait for the pain to set in. Take your pain meds when you're supposed to. Set your alarm in the middle of the night to get up and take them.


3. Opening child proof pill bottles with one hand is impossible. Put your pain pills in a bowl so you can be sure to get them when you need them.


4. You will spend quite a few nights sleeping while sitting up. If you have a recliner that would be ideal. If not, and you have the room, renting one might be a good idea.


5. If you live alone, try to get someone to stay with you for at least the first 48 hours. You will need the help.

I also spoke to my cousin, Mark, and my friend, Andy. They both gave me their perspectives which were vastly different. But I took what I could from their accounts and added the facts to my mental fact book.

I knew I was going to have a shoulder block while I was sedated as my anesthesia for surgery so I did some research about that. I found out that the block was called an Interscalene Brachial Plexus Block and it works on the same principle as an epidural. It is a regional anesthesia where the anesthesiologist injects the drug right near the brachial nerve and it numbs the whole arm. The effects can last as long as 24 hours but usually wear off in 12-16 hours. That allows you to get home and settled before the pain could kick in. I liked the idea of the block over general anesthesia since I had been sedated many times before but had never had a general before. I knew I tolerated sedation well so that helped put my mind at ease.

I also learned that the procedure would take between 45 & 75 minutes depending on how much work needed to be done and that it would take about that long for the block to be done. Then you throw in an hour or two for recovery and you are looking at about 4 hours total time for the procedure. I made sure I had a ride to and from the hospital.

Since I had just recently dislocated my shoulder I was also doing some things to strengthen the shoulder before surgery. A few nights a week I was using a heating pad on the shoulder and doing some rehab exercises. Hell, I had been in PT enough that I knew the exercises by heart. Also, I figured the stronger I was when I went into surgery, the better off I would be after the surgery.

The surgeon's office told me they would call me the day before the surgery and give me a time to be at the hospital. I was also told I would be given a list of physical therapists recommended by Dr. Hershon when the time came. Until then there was nothing to do but wait.