UKC

My shoulder has now dislocated for the 3rd time, this time it was midway up a climb which has not inspired much confidence and not turned my thoughts to surgery!
I've spoken to a few people about the surgery and, given my lifestyle I've come to the decision that getting some surgery done will be more beneficial than the 'intense physio' that I've been given each time I've dislocated it (which clearly hasn't helped).

Anyway, the reason of this post is to see if anyone has any insight into the surgery and thoughts on it ect. It would be really great if anyone can recommend some sort of specialist shoulder surgeon to see as I realise its best to see a reccomended surgeon.

Thanks a lot, Jordan

In reply to Tiernan:

I can reccomend Mr Marcus Green, Birmingham Knee and Shoulder Clinic, but its a bt far from you...

In reply to John_Hat:

Thanks a lot for that, it happens my family are from Solihull so ill take a look at him

Jordan

In reply to Tiernan:

He did the carving on my shoulder last Saturday, and whilst its early days, obviously, I've been really impressed with his consultative, informative style, he's easy to get on with, and other staff at the hospital have said that he's one of the best around.

In reply to Tiernan:

A friend of mine had exactly the same thing and has since had reconstruction surgery which, so far, appears to have done the job.

In reply to GrahamD:

That's good to hear. Has his surgery restricted his range of movement in the shoulder at all?

In reply to Tiernan: Not sure where you are but Dr Len Funk is the man! He's in Manchester. You might have to go private to get him though.

Dr Matt Ravenscroft did mine. He trained under and now works with Dr Funk. He did an great job on mine, was the only surgeon willing to operate as it was complicated and I was only 19 so there were fears I'd 'grow out' of the repair. NHS wise he's at Stepping Hill,Stockport. Private he's in Cheadle I think.

In reply to Tiernan:

Get it done mate. Don't end up like me with a lifetime of popping my right shoulder at least once every 6 months. First dislocated it at 18, never got the op done, and now 20 years later still struggling with it.

In reply to Tiernan:


Seems to me as good as ever.

Kirill has a profile on here so you can email him directly.

In reply to Tiernan:

My shoulder dislocated about 20 times over the course of a few years until I eventually had surgery on it - it's not come out since, although it has gone clunk a few times in a slightly disconcerting way! It's definitely an improvement though. Movement is slightly restricted but the only things it actually stops me from doing is swimming backstroke and breathing on one side when swimming crawl.

In reply to Tiernan:
Get it done, by the sound of things it is no good as it is, even if you had somelimitation in mobility it is the the stability that you need. The human body will adapt to physical restrictions.

I had a catastrophic dislocation last year with lots of soft tissue and some bone damage. It needed re-construction but that is always less effective when you have trashed it before the surgeon starts. It is still stiff, sore at times and not very strong so I advise getting yours fixed before things go seriously pear-shaped and you do more damage. Mine was done by Mr Williams at Newcastle RVI, excellent surgeon who has climbed so appreciates my concerns.

In reply to Tiernan:

Got mine done after the fourth pop-out. Now have confidence that it will stay in although I try to avoid certain positions.

My recommendation is for Danny Tang at Airedale on the good old NHS altough he does private at the Yorkshire Clinic as well if you like that sort of thing.

Thank you all for your replies, looks like a winter of hill walking for me until I get this shoulder sorted, don't want it popping somewhere more precarious!

I'll get looking at some of the specialists that have been referred, being a student I think private is well over my budget!

Jordan

In reply to Tiernan:

I posted about 5 months ago after just having my right shoulder 'tuned up' by a surgeon asking about my prognosis. Go for it mate, after 5 months I am back, albeit at a low level, on rock and plastic. The only thing you will gain from going private with a surgeon is time as they are the same people! And a couple of months wait is not the end of the world in the long run. Save your cash for a physio as that is where the real differences will come later.

In reply to Tiernan:

I've had a recurring problem with a partial dislocation /sub-lux of my left shoulder - it pops out and goes straight back in again. I've done it a bunch of times and in all different ways (the best one was during an overhead press causing me to drop the barbell on my head).

Anyway, I noticed whilst I was at the gym that the feeling I got in my left tricep during certain exercises was very similar to the feeling I get after I've sub-luxed my shoulder, and I wondered if strengthening my triceps would increase my shoulder stability. Six months of weight training later, and I've not only had no more sub-luxes, but I've not really even felt it wanting to go, it feels so much more solid.

I'm conscious that my problem was not anywhere near as serious as what you guys have been describing - it was enough to make me cautious of some activities but not bad enough to consider surgery - but maybe helpful in some way?

I can highly recommend Andrew Brooksbank at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary (NHS). He specialises on shoulders and did mine through keyhole (less recovery time compared to open surgery, also no movement restriction associated with heavy scaring). He is also working at the Glasgow Sports Surgery Service in case you want to go private.

http://www.gsss.co.uk/shoulder/mr-andrew-brooksbank/