shoulder problems

Just wondering if any one can give me their experience in having surgery for a shoulder impingement-hopefull y small tear in rotator cuff (it was small 2.5 years ago but may have gotten bigger).  Dr. said he will not know until he goes in but I can not barely use my arm anymore.  I am having surgery on April 3 and I already had physical therapy and cortisone and neither helped.  I just want to make sure that I am not making a mistake even though I can't possibly see how the pain could be any worse.   Please anyone that has had the surgery let me know what to expect.  Thanks!
Randi.....52 year old female

[Abhijeet Deshmukh, MD]

Hello.

I can narrate a few experiences that some patients have had with this. One of them had a shoulder dislocation. There was a lesion of the joint cavity which was fixed with the surgery and he was back to normal after six months. He just had to take care not to lift heavy weights in certain awkward position. Another patient had a rotator cuff injury. There was a positive response form him, too.

I would suggest you to prepare yourself for a disciplined post-surgery plan. You will have to follow all the instructions given by the surgeon and you will be on your way to recovery.

Regards