shoulder surgery ques.

I'm planning to have my shoulder scoped in late September by Dr. Millet in Vail at the Steadman Hawkins Clinic. I've seen a few different surgeons in the Front Range and liked him the best in terms of being affable and approachable (as far as surgeons go). I thought his recovery protocol was pretty progressive and reasonable and not as draconian as some of the other surgeons. Has anyone had any good/bad experiences with Dr. Millet?

No horror stories please about shoulder surgery in general - I've got to get it done and I am trying to stay positive and have the best recovery possible. Thanks!

Hey Amy,

Sorry but I do not have any information on the doctors in question. I just wanted to wish you luck with your recovery. I've had surgery on both of my shoulders over the past two years and wanted to let you know that there is climbing life afterwards. Make sure that you diligently stick to your rehabilitation regimen and stay patient. It can be a bit painful and slow at times, but if you put in the work you'll be back in no time.

What are you having done? I had mine done by Dr. Hackett at the Steadman Clinic two weeks ago, and I had a great experience. I would definitely recommend staying the night after surgery. I felt really sick when I came out of anesthesia, and I was really happy to go to a hotel 2 blocks away. I stayed at the Sonnenalp, and they were great. They gave me a big discount since I was coming from the Steadman Clinic. Several nurses were helping me when I came out of surgery, and three people from the hospital called me the next day to see how I was doing.

I had a bone spur removed, my labrum debrided, and my biceps tendon re-attached, and I'm pretty much back to normal (sans climbing or picking up anything heavy). I'm supposed to be allowed to ride a bike in 2 weeks and climb easy stuff in 4. Good luck!

Amy,

I had the same experience coming out of anesthesia as Berkeley. In my case I was under for extra time, long story, so the bucket of happy pills they gave me post-op just made me feel nauseous.

I would highly recommend a cold therapy pump like the Donjoy Iceman. That thing was amazing. I was able to use that and 800MG doses of Ibuprofen to manage the pain instead of getting looped out and sick from narcotics. I had a very invasive surgery, torn cartilage and bi-directional dislocation. Mine was in '99.

I don't know your doctor but the orthopedic surgeons have this stuff down nowadays and Vail has the rep as being among the best in the world. You'll be up and running in no time, good luck.

One more thing, don't over do physical therapy, they'll be glad to give you a lot of sessions and take your money. Listen to yourself, your body, it should give you a good idea of what you need.

Rick Blair wrote:I would highly recommend a cold therapy pump like the Donjoy Iceman. That thing was amazing. I was able to use that and 800MG doses of Ibuprofen to manage the pain instead of getting looped out and sick from narcotics.

+1. The ice machine was awesome. I'm sure they'll give you the same one. I only took the narcotics for 2 days, and I honestly think I could have gotten off of them sooner. I left the ice thing on 24 hours a day for the first few days (it goes on for 30 minutes, then off for 30 minutes), and it was amazing how much it helped. If I had it to do over again, I'd try to minimize the narcotics from the beginning. I felt like I had the worst hangover of my life when I quit taking them.

Thanks everyone - I appreciate the positive responses. I know its a long and sometimes painfully frustrating recovery so I just didn't want to hear a lot of bad stories...I've heard 'em and I'm trying to keep my mind focused and my anxiety to a minimum. I've had both hips scoped and I recover well from surgery so I should be ok but its easy to get unnerved by some of the horror stories out there .

Berkeley - I know Dr. Hackett (ha - funny name for a surgeon!) has a great rep too. When you say that you stayed up there the night after did you mean you stayed in the hospital the night of surgery and then an extra day in Vail before returning to Boulder? I was told that they will keep me 23 hours (so as not to bill insurance for an overnight). Then I was planning to return home the next day? We're not entirely sure what he will be doing - looks like a posterior labral tear, maybe some debridement of the RC and re-fixation of biceps tendon. Millet didn't think it looked too bad but you can't tell much from the Arthrogram in my opinion. If he has to repair the labrum vs. debriding it than I will have a longer recovery for sure.

My situation is a bit more complicated than just wanting to return to my sports. I've got a 4 month old baby...its a long story but I started having shoulder problems when I was pregnant this past winter and I have made the decision to move forward with surgery. I have a substantial amount of pain in my left shoulder and the right is getting worse..I don't want to continue to lose function in my shoulders b/c of the tears and PT has done nothing so I am going to go ahead and get it taken care of now while my baby is still very small and won't notice the difference hopefully. My shoulder pain has impacted my daily life and not just my ability to play so it has to be taken care of sooner rather than later.

Rick - I appreciate the advice re not over-doing rehab. Sometimes these rehab protocols get out of control...no person with a dayjob could ever do all the exercises prescribed! So I know that it takes diligence but also some discretion to know what you have to do and what you can take or leave. I am planning to get the ice machine too.

Your surgery sounds like it's more intense than mine. I was only in surgery for an hour and a half and in the hospital for about 7 hours total. I got there around 9 AM and then went to the hotel around 4 PM. My boyfriend drove me home the next day.

One thing I've noticed is that I don't have much pain if I don't do anything, but it hurts a lot if I overdo it. I'm sure you're going to want to pick up your baby, but don't do it with your bad arm! Good luck and congratulations on the new baby.

Hmm, that is interesting because my surgery is only supposed to take an hour and half too. I was just told that Dr. Millet likes to keep people overnight the night of surgery but I know its still considered an out-patient procedure.

Thanks - I know I will not be able to pick her up for a while...its going to kill me to be so dependent on others but at least she is still too young to really protest they way a 1 year old might!

Millet did my shoulder in November. I am really happy with the outcome.

Rehab is a bitch but I am now climbing some 5.10 again.

If you want more of the story, my thoughts about the whole process of surgery/recovery, or moral support, feel free to email.