Rotator Cuff Tendon Tear…what Would You Do?
I just recently found out that I was born w/ bone spurs (hooks) on each of my shoulders which has caused my right rotator cuff tendon to tear completely in 1/2 which means I need surgery to cut the bone spur off & to screw the tendons back 2gether. My left rotator cuff will tear soon if I dont get the bone spur cut off but also has an inflamed bursa sac that needs to be removed as well. Finances are only allowing me to do 1 shoulder this year and the other next yr. Which shoulder would U get fixed first? I want to get the right one fixed first since its torn, but turns out it has possibly been torn for over a yr already and I just didnt know it. Or would you get the left one fixed first BEFORE it tears?
**I guess I just dont know what other problems I could have from living with a completely torn rotator cuff tendon? Does it cause more problems if you prolong getting it fixed? I know this is a doc question but thought I could get some insight from all of U first.
Your Orthopedic surgeon should be giving you his advice on this. But just for general background, most people can adjust quite well, even with a completely torn rotator cuff. That’s because there are enough other muscles that can contribute to moving the arm. And, from talking to Orthopedic surgeons in my area, an old rotator cuff tear is a difficult thing to put back together. There may not be enough tendon left to get a good result.
So I’m going to hazard a guess and suggest that your Orthopedic surgeon will want to tack the Left shoulder first, while the tendons are still somewhat salvageable. Then, he will have an intensive course of physical therapy to BOTH shoulders, to see if he can get good function out of the Right arm. If so, he might opt to not do too much surgery on the Right shoulder.
Well if it tears completely and you wait a while to get it fixed…it may not be able to be fixed because the muscles may retract and not be able to stretch back to original length. Doctors tend to tell people to do the worst one first. So if one is more painful or doesn’t have all of the range of motion or strength, i would get that one done first. But its’ entirely up to you.