Upper arm pain

[Jo21503]

My husband had rotator cuff surgery 6 months ago, right after his surgery he got a huge lump on his upper arm. When he would go to therapy it would swell and get hot. The therapiest stopped doing therapy which caused his shoulder to freeze. They have run lots of labs, 3 MRIs, XRays with no solutions. Then he went to another orthopedic doctor which did surgery to unfreeze his shoulder but with therapy again his arm is swelling and getting hot. We are really needing some help. The second Doctor says that the lump is normal with surgery but 2 physical therapist have both said there is nothing normal about it. We don't know where to go next.

[Jo21503]

That is where the problem is it has been swollen, for over 6 months, it gets worse with physical therapy. And the current orthopedic dr is saying that it is normal.

thank you

[S. Kaul, MD]

Hi there!

Well, without knowing the relevant clinical details or a detailed clinical evaluation it would be difficult to comment specifically on the situation. While some amount of inflammation and swelling is expected after the surgery, excessive swelling/ lump formation may require an evaluation. Also if there is associated discomfort, I would suggest going slow with the physiotherapy for some time. If the symptoms do not resolve over the next few weeks, you may consider a review with his treating orthopedician.
Hope this is helpful.

Take acre!