Post-Surgery

Lee had his reverse shoulder replacement surgery on Wednesday.  The surgeon said his shoulder was a real mess - ALL the tendons were torn, it was full of arthritis and fluid, and the arm bone had moved partway out of the socket.  The surgery went well, though, and although he had quite a bit of pain on Thursday (it took his nurse four hours to deliver his pain pills after he asked for them), they did let him go home that evening and he has been feeling better since.  He will be in a sling for a month and has to sleep in his Craftmatic bed with the head elevated.  Charlie and I are camping out there for the time being; I am trying to keep him from doing all the things he's not supposed to, like pulling t-shirts over his head and using his right hand "just to help."  As his son said, "Let the high maintenance begin!"

"Rotator cuff tear arthropathy (arthritis with a large cuff defect) is a devastating condition that seriously compromises the comfort and function of the shoulder. This condition is characterized by the irreparable loss of the rotator cuff tendons and destruction of the normal joint surface of the shoulder. Because these tissues cannot be restored, the shoulder is often weak, painful, and unstable. Using special techniques and a reversed total shoulder design, qualified surgeons can improve the stability of the shoulder and enable the deltoid muscle to power it, even in the absence of a normal rotator cuff." ~University of Washington Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine