Cuff repair done.. Supraspinatus + subscapularis.
Hey everyone. I've been reading this sub for a few months since learning I might be getting a cuff repair. Well it's done.
Quick background: I'm a 43 y-o female and have been a high level athlete for the past 30 years or so. I swam competitively for 22 years and made the Canadian team for the World University Games 3 times. Between 2010 and 2012 I had 4 shoulder surgeries for significant SLAP tears.. First nn attempt to repair the tears on both shoulders (as I was trying to make the Olympic team in 2012), then a biceps tenodesis on each side when the repairs unfortunately failed. We knew the odds of the repair healing well were not great and it was a shared decision with my surgeon to try. I was never able to return to much swimming after all that in part because the tenodesis made my shoulders even more lax.
I started paddling around 2014. First came dragon boat in which I won multiple world championship gold medals with the national and also my club teams. Then I moved to outrigger canoe and in 2018 to marathon canoe where I've become the strongest female paddler in North America. I also became a family doctor though I no longer work in a clinic setting.
Paddling never hurt my shoulders until a few years ago when I started having pain and significant AROM limitations lasting maybe 24 hours after long races (our big 3 races are about 8 hours, 16 hours, and 13 hours spread over 3 days). I also développés à very prominent AC joint which caused pain mostly with pressure from the canoe when portaging. In October 2024, my shoulder started catching and locking which lead to the MRI (showed small partial supraspinatus tear with severe tendinosis + cartilage flap on the humeral head + significant AC OA) and surgeon visit. I decided to return to my same sports surgeon but opted for his private clinic this time (we have both here in Quebec) because I would have waited for years otherwise. We agreed that he would do everything he could to give me the best shoulder for a long as possible knowing full well this won't be my last surgery. Had no idea if rehab would be 2 months or much longer because didn't know if he would even see a tear to fix or if he would just be debriding and shaving off the distal clavicle. In the meantime I lowered my cross-country ski mileage and modified my weights training.
Well it's done.. Worse than the worst case we had thought.. Subscapularis was in bad shape, he poked right through it! Supraspinatus had a small but full thickness tear. So he repaired both + clavicle resection + debridement of lots of small flaps of cartilage that were catching and locking. Also grafted a patch of bovine collagen to help strengthen the supraspinatus tendon. Looks like not much strengthening before 3 months, sports 6 months. Sling for 4-6 weeks. I have a continuous block for 3 days (infraclavicular is a recent development for shoulder surgery according to the anesthesiologist). This is so far the most significant repairs I've had done and will be the longest rehab. It will be a long road back to top level paddling but I will make it eventually.
Applying the tips I've learned since the 1st surgery, I'll be sleeping in my bed but on an incline (pillow stacking) for a while. I usually do well with pain but have Tramadol and Dilaudid if needed once the block is finished and I take the catheter out. Also have the Breg Wave ice and compression machine which is really neat.
The coolest thing about the day was that the anesthesiologist agreed to give me minimal sedation so I could watch my surgery. I watched the whole thing and chatted with my surgeon about his findings (he swears he was not annoyed!). That was so cool and even I could tell from the start that everything looked frayed everywhere.. He was slightly surprised actually. Infraclavicular block worked wonderfully except it didn't quite numb the skin around the shoulder so I could feel the initial incisions but not bad enough to request more sedative. The only other part that hurt was when he shaved off the clavicle with that burr/cautery instrument but didn't last very long.
TLDR: High level athlete. Just had my 5th shoulder surgery. Supraspinatus and subscapularis repair + clavicle resection + debridement of lots of small flaps of cartilage that were catching and locking + bovine collagen allograft to help strengthen the supraspinatus tendon. Long road to recovery starts now!
Hey everyone. I've been reading this sub for a few months since learning I might be getting a cuff repair. Well it's done.
Quick background: I'm a 43 y-o female and have been a high level athlete for the past 30 years or so. I swam competitively for 22 years and made the Canadian team for the World University Games 3 times. Between 2010 and 2012 I had 4 shoulder surgeries for significant SLAP tears.. First nn attempt to repair the tears on both shoulders (as I was trying to make the Olympic team in 2012), then a biceps tenodesis on each side when the repairs unfortunately failed. We knew the odds of the repair healing well were not great and it was a shared decision with my surgeon to try. I was never able to return to much swimming after all that in part because the tenodesis made my shoulders even more lax.
I started paddling around 2014. First came dragon boat in which I won multiple world championship gold medals with the national and also my club teams. Then I moved to outrigger canoe and in 2018 to marathon canoe where I've become the strongest female paddler in North America. I also became a family doctor though I no longer work in a clinic setting.
Paddling never hurt my shoulders until a few years ago when I started having pain and significant AROM limitations lasting maybe 24 hours after long races (our big 3 races are about 8 hours, 16 hours, and 13 hours spread over 3 days). I also développés à very prominent AC joint which caused pain mostly with pressure from the canoe when portaging. In October 2024, my shoulder started catching and locking which lead to the MRI (showed small partial supraspinatus tear with severe tendinosis + cartilage flap on the humeral head + significant AC OA) and surgeon visit. I decided to return to my same sports surgeon but opted for his private clinic this time (we have both here in Quebec) because I would have waited for years otherwise. We agreed that he would do everything he could to give me the best shoulder for a long as possible knowing full well this won't be my last surgery. Had no idea if rehab would be 2 months or much longer because didn't know if he would even see a tear to fix or if he would just be debriding and shaving off the distal clavicle. In the meantime I lowered my cross-country ski mileage and modified my weights training.
Well it's done.. Worse than the worst case we had thought.. Subscapularis was in bad shape, he poked right through it! Supraspinatus had a small but full thickness tear. So he repaired both + clavicle resection + debridement of lots of small flaps of cartilage that were catching and locking. Also grafted a patch of bovine collagen to help strengthen the supraspinatus tendon. Looks like not much strengthening before 3 months, sports 6 months. Sling for 4-6 weeks. I have a continuous block for 3 days (infraclavicular is a recent development for shoulder surgery according to the anesthesiologist). This is so far the most significant repairs I've had done and will be the longest rehab. It will be a long road back to top level paddling but I will make it eventually.
Applying the tips I've learned since the 1st surgery, I'll be sleeping in my bed but on an incline (pillow stacking) for a while. I usually do well with pain but have Tramadol and Dilaudid if needed once the block is finished and I take the catheter out. Also have the Breg Wave ice and compression machine which is really neat.
The coolest thing about the day was that the anesthesiologist agreed to give me minimal sedation so I could watch my surgery. I watched the whole thing and chatted with my surgeon about his findings (he swears he was not annoyed!). That was so cool and even I could tell from the start that everything looked frayed everywhere.. He was slightly surprised actually. Infraclavicular block worked wonderfully except it didn't quite numb the skin around the shoulder so I could feel the initial incisions but not bad enough to request more sedative. The only other part that hurt was when he shaved off the clavicle with that burr/cautery instrument but didn't last very long.
TLDR: High level athlete. Just had my 5th shoulder surgery. Supraspinatus and subscapularis repair + clavicle resection + debridement of lots of small flaps of cartilage that were catching and locking + bovine collagen allograft to help strengthen the supraspinatus tendon. Long road to recovery starts now!