Shoulder Procedures
Shoulder Joint Replacement
In shoulder replacement surgery, the damaged parts of the shoulder are removed and replaced with artificial components, called a prosthesis. The treatment options are either replacement of just the head of the humerus bone (ball), or replacement of both the ball and the socket (glenoid).
Is Shoulder Joint Replacement for You?
The decision to have shoulder replacement surgery should be a cooperative one between you, your family, your family physician, and your orthopaedic surgeon.
There are several reasons why your doctor may recommend shoulder replacement surgery. People who benefit from surgery often have:
- Severe shoulder pain that interferes with everyday activities, such as reaching into a cabinet, dressing, toileting, and washing.
- Moderate to severe pain while resting. This pain may be severe enough to prevent a good night’s sleep.
- Loss of motion and/or weakness in the shoulder.
- Failure to substantially improve with other treatments such as anti-inflammatory medications, cortisone injections, and/or physical therapy.
Arthroscopic Rotator Cuff Repair
If you have a torn rotator cuff, your doctor may recommend arthroscopic surgery to fix the tear. During an arthroscopic rotator cuff repair, your surgeon inserts a small camera, called an arthroscope, into your shoulder joint. The camera displays pictures on a television screen, and your surgeon uses these images to guide miniature surgical instruments.
Arthroscopic repair is usually performed as an outpatient procedure and is the least invasive method used to repair a torn rotator cuff.
Rotator Cuff and Shoulder Conditioning Program
If you had injured your shoulder or just undergone surgery, an exercise conditioning program will help you return to your normal daily activities and help with getting you back to playing the sports you love. To ensure the program is safe and effective, it should be approved and performed under the supervision of your orthopaedic surgeon as well as a physical therapist.
Shoulder Pain and Common Shoulder Problems
There are four major categories that orthopaedic surgeons’ diagnose your shoulder pain or shoulder problem into and they are: Tendon inflammation or tendon tear, Instability, Arthritis, and Fractures. Your orthopaedic surgeon will conduct a thorough evaluation in order to determine the cause of your specific pain / problem and provide you with a treatment plan tailored to your needs.
Shoulder Arthroscopy
There are four major categories that orthopaedic surgeons’ diagnose your shoulder pain or shoulder problem into and they are: Tendon inflammation or tendon tear, Instability, Arthritis, and Fractures. Your orthopaedic surgeon will conduct a thorough evaluation in order to determine the cause of your specific pain / problem and provide you with a treatment plan tailored to your needs.
Frozen Shoulder
If you are experiencing frozen shoulder, you most likely have pain and stiffness in the area making it very hard to move. Frozen shoulder develops in three stages and in order to control the pain and restore motion, nonsurgical treatment may be recommended by your orthopaedic surgeon.
Labrum Tear
Acute trauma or repetitive shoulder motion are the main causes of Labrum tears. It is important to discuss with your orthopaedic surgeon the history of the injury or if it happened during a specific incident since symptoms are very similar to those of other shoulder injuries. Depending on how severe the injury is, nonsurgical and surgical treatment options are available.
