Complications following Heart Bypass Surgery

[ker1571]

I am a female, 44 years old, Type I Diabetic and have had heart bypass surgery.  It has been 6 months.  I am unable to lift my arms, especially my left arm.  I am unable to put my arms behind my back.  I have retained about 30 to 40 pounds of water.  I have pain in my neck, shoulders, arms and back.
Following my surgery, I experienced numbness from the neck down.  I did not have fine motor skills.  I was sent for an x-ray and cat scan.  Both indicated that I did not have a fracture in my vertebrae.  The feeling eventually returned to my body.
My doctors are at a loss for this.

[Archibald S Miller III, MD,FACS]

I am Dr. Arch Miller and am on the reconstructive surgery forum. Occasionally, the inability to use ones arms is secondary to pain. If your sternum is unstable, then your discomfort and lack of motion is understandable. I would recommend that you have a 3D CT scan and see if your wires are broken and if the sternum has a nonunion or failure to knit or heal. If that is the case, then your problem can be addressed by using rigid fixation. You can see one method of this by going to rapidsternalclosure.com and viewing an animation of the procedure. Dr. Scott Levin of Duke, Dr. James Spann of Tulsa, Oklahoma and myself do this procedure, but there are also many others. We can get you to a referral if you desire. I hope this helps you, respectfully,

                             arch s miller ms md facs