Surgery Update

[BeanoNYC]

Well I finally had my shoulder surgery on Thursday. It's been a long time coming and I'm typing here with one hand and vicoden coursing through my veins. The surgery was at the NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases in Manhattan. The surgeon was able to shave down my collarbone, put it back in place and reconstruct all the ligaments. I stayed overnight for "pain management." I never had surgery before and was shocked at how much pain I was I had in recovery. They needed to do a nerve block because I had a reaction to the morphine. Anyway the doctor said everything went well. I'll be in a sling for 4-6 weeks. Rehab starts in two weeks. I will be able to bike and kayak Mid-August. Skiing will not be effected.

For those of you who haven't seen what had happened, here's some before pics...I'll post an after pic once the swelling goes down and bandages come off:

 

[andyzee]

Ouch! Wish you a speedy recovery pal.

 

[BeanoNYC]

Ouch! Wish you a speedy recovery pal.

Thanks Andy. I thought you had seen that in person. I took that about 6 months ago. I can't wait to get full mobility again.

 

[andyzee]

Thanks Andy. I thought you had seen that in person. I took that about 6 months ago. I can't wait to get full mobility again.

No I don't think I did, it would be kind of hard to forget that.

 

[ALLSKIING]

Good news Rich!! Got that behind you now its all down hill from here.

 

[thetrailboss]

Rich, what happened? Did I miss something here? That really sucks. Get well dude. You have not missed too much...been raining up here straight for the last week or so.

 

[BeanoNYC]

Rich, what happened? Did I miss something here? That really sucks. Get well dude. You have not missed too much...been raining up here straight for the last week or so.

Thanks Michael. It's an old injury from January 06. It ended up being a type 5 shoulder separation. I went to 5 surgeons until I found one who would not "wire" everything down and knew how to transplant the ligaments. They also needed to re-break the bone and shave it down to put it into place. I played through the muscle weakness and pain this season and opted to have the surgery at the end the school year after I handed my grades in. It's all uphill from here! 8)

 

[Warp Daddy]

Best of luck for a speedy recovery Teach !

 

[Greg]

I remember those pics. That hardly looks human. Get well soon. Glad skiing will not be an issue.

 

[Grassi21]

Get well. Get well soon. We want you to get well. That was for you Seinfeld fans.

Those pics are just as disturbing the second time around. How did you react to the morphine? I had some when I went to the ER with what I thought was appendicitis. I had a great reaction to the morphine. ;-)

 

[BeanoNYC]

Get well. Get well soon. We want you to get well. That was for you Seinfeld fans.

LMAO! "We are all unhappy! Do we have to be fat too?"

I got a rash and itchy from the mophine. I wish it was Demerol. They gave me that when I originally got the injury and I could have done the worm across the ER floor. Thanks for the well wishes guys.

 

[zook]

Beano - glad you finally had that surgery, those images were really disturbing I'm happy to hear everything went well and wish you speedy recovery.

 

[jack97]

BeanoNYC,

Do you still have a lump on the bone area with the hardware in place? From the looks of it, the surgery was required.

When I broke my collar bone, I opted for no surgery, doc said I was borderline. His opinion along with a second was that it would heal on it own if the bone did not dislodge/move out of place. I still have a lump but it looks like it become less pronouce since the initial break.

 

[BeanoNYC]

Beano - glad you finally had that surgery, those images were really disturbing I'm happy to hear everything went well and wish you speedy recovery.

Thanks Zook. Let me know when you guys want to hike the bird sanctuary. I'll meet you two for a tour.

BeanoNYC,

Do you still have a lump on the bone area with the hardware in place? From the looks of it, the surgery was required.

I'm not sure what you mean by hardware. The lump was the collar bone sitting on top of the shoulder bone. The first doctor, whom I liked a lot but later found out he was wrong, said I didn't need surgery because it was a "type 3 AC separation". I don't think he knew how to fix it. All the following doctors said surgery was a must but non could transplant the ligaments and needed to use either a wire or pins. This guy I found was able to transplant real ligaments. He explained what he did when I was in recovery but I don't remember the details. I'll find out more when I see him this Friday.

 

[Grassi21]

He explained what he did when I was in recovery but I don't remember the details.

Why do doctors do that? I went for the dreaded scope. During recovery the doctor came by to check on me and fill me in on the situation. I was still half out of it and couldn't remember what he said. Thankfully they left a written report with my wife and all checked out well.

 

[BeanoNYC]

Why do doctors do that? .

To be fair, I asked him. The details were real fuzzy. He said he'd draw me a picture when I came it.

 

[Paul]

Good luck and best wishes for a speedy recovery, Rich!

Yep, recovering from surgery sucks, I'm 9 weeks out, and still have months to go. At least the pain eventually subsided a little.

 

[jack97]

I'm not sure what you mean by hardware. .... All the following doctors said surgery was a must but non could transplant the ligaments and needed to use either a wire or pins.

The doctor use the term "hardware" for the wires and pin inserts needed to keep my bone in place. The idea of pins inserted into my bones just didn't sit well with me, that's why I opted out.

 

[BeanoNYC]

Good luck and best wishes for a speedy recovery, Rich!

Yep, recovering from surgery sucks, I'm 9 weeks out, and still have months to go. At least the pain eventually subsided a little.

Thanks Paul, I noticed your new avatar. ACL? When does Ralphie eating soap come back?

The doctor use the term "hardware" for the wires and pin inserts needed to keep my bone in place. The idea of pins inserted into my bones just didn't sit well with me, that's why I opted out.

Ahh ok. This surgeon didn't use any hardware. I took the bandage off and there's still a lot of swelling. The bone seems to be back in place. What was your exact injury?

 

[Marc]

Shoulda just wore your backup around with 100 lbs of weight in it to cram it back in place.



What a sally.