Shoulder surgery on LE side?

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magdalene51
magdalene51 Member Posts: 2,214
edited December 2014 in Lymphedema

I have really bad arthritis and bone spurs in the shoulder on my LE side. My LE is very mild, about 8%, so not enough to have therapy etc. But I went in for rad sims and the position they put that shoulder in was excruciating. I haven't heard back on when they want to start rads, but I'm truly dreading it. It's been nearly two weeks since the sim and the shoulder is still in pain. I've been told the only solution is a complete shoulder replacement. Is that inadvisable now? And on a different note, what about scar revision? I have really bad dog ears, and although I'm not thinking about it right now, would it even be advisable?

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  • glennie19
    glennie19 Member Posts: 6,398
    edited December 2014

    I want to get my excess skin removed and my LE therapist said it was OK. I have truncal LE. I'm considering it, cuz I really hate the excess skin.

    A complete shoulder replacement? Really?  Did you get 2nd opinion?  Try PT?? Can they do a shoulder scope and just cut out the bone spurs?  (I am not a surgeon! Just guessing here)  Sounds like big surgery.  Do you have LE therapist that you can consult?

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  • SusanSnowFlake
    SusanSnowFlake Member Posts: 165
    edited December 2014

    I had terrible shoulder pain right after surgery 6 months ago. I tried to get my Rad Onc to understand that I couldn't put my arm in the position that it needed to be in she didn't but prescribed a muscle relaxer that I took every day so that I could get my arm in position, for radiation. I didn't start PT for my shoulder (turned out it was not properly in its socket) until 3 weeks ago and am rapidly improving I couldn't even lift a soup can before and could only lift my arm a little above my waist, in 3 weeks I have full movement in one direction already. Delaying PT DID NOT make things worse.

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  • Kicks
    Kicks Member Posts: 4,131
    edited December 2014

    They can do different arm positioning if you tell them it's uncomfortable/painful. They rolled/folded towels to go under my arm. I also have a lot of arthritis in upper back/neck so to be comfortable they also used towels to support my neck. If something hurts - tell them immediately - you do not need to hurt. Same goes with scans/tests.

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  • magdalene51
    magdalene51 Member Posts: 2,214
    edited December 2014


    I have had 2 surgeries to repair the rotator cuff after it was sliced nearly in half by bone spurs. Years of PT could not give me full range of motion.the most recent xrays show many many bone spurs, up to the size of a quarter. The first surgery they had to remove the acromium because it couldn't be repaired. If I had another surgery to remove bone spurs it would only be a temporary fix, because they keep coming back.

    You'd think techs and docs would be flexible about the placement of the arm, but not so much. For the rads it has to be high enough to be able to radiate where necessary, and it had to be able to fit in the ct. I had a major problem when I had the MRI , as the tube was quite narrow and my arms had to be above my head for that too. I tried it with my arm down by my side, but it was a really tight fit and I'm also extremely claustrophobic. I was in tears. After 2 Valium.

    Well, I didn't mean to write a novel, just to say, I really do know it would have to be a whole new shoulder. Just don't know if it's worth it.

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  • SusanSnowFlake
    SusanSnowFlake Member Posts: 165
    edited December 2014

    I couldn't get in the CT scan without a lot of pain. The techs checked the hospital for a larger scan trying to help me get comfortable but couldn't locate one so I had to do it and it brought me to tears, the MRI tube is to small, I am also claustrophobic. It was bad. Valuim had no effect. But, Flexeril (don't know how it's spelled) worked, I was able to put my arm where it needed to be. I was, however really high everyday, the medication made me loopy +++ and I had to be driven to radiation, It was like being back in 1969, a lot of inappropriate laughter.

    I experienced what your talking about with the Doc, no empathy at all, no recognition that the problem with my shoulder mattered or was even real. But that's not her job, her job was to help me deal with cancer not my shoulder or my fears, which were huge. When I finished radiation the NP made appointments for me with an LE specialist and a PT to work on my arm. I was surprised because I felt like these people were unfeeling jerks that didn't care at all what I was going through. They did care but knew what my priorities needed to be.

    What you have to determine is "what is your priority?" What will you gain or lose from radiation, and where do you find the right Doc to help you decide if shoulder surgery is the best option. You may be surprised to find out that the staff at the Rad Doc's office can help you with that information.

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