Mike's shoulder surgery

 Mike has really bad joints.. really bad arthritis, big bone spurs, worn out and damaged cartilage , etc, etc. He has had one knee replaced. It was a mess, fairly crippling. He is glad he did that surgery, as now it does not give him great pain to use it. It's not as flexible as he would like, and feels "tight", but it's virtually pain free and very functional. (Except for kneeling on it)

Next: the shoulders. His right one was replaced July 13. They do something called a "reverse" replacement nowadays. They put a metal socket/receiver on the top of the humerus (which used to have a ball on it), and they shave out the socket on the scapula and screw in a ball. The joint is now reversed, the deltoid muscle(somehow!) does the bulk of the work in lifting and moving the arm instead of the muscles of the ( in Mike's case, very well-worn and very damaged)  rotator cuff muscles and tendons. They had to really pull and stretch the muscles around the joint to DO the surgery, so his upper arm was very swollen and bruised for weeks. They said it (replacement)  was an easier surgery and recovery than rotator cuff repair, and so far Mike has found that to be true. He is less than 5weeks out of surgery and feels really great, has good movement and flexibility AND, best of all, minimal pain. Of course, physical therapy hasn't begun in earnest, so time will tell. But we are optimistic.

Here's an X-ray of his new shoulder. That IS a before and after comparison. Hardware is the one on the left.

Needless to say, it was NOT in good shape before. The ball on the top of his humerus was so worn and jagged with big bone spurs. The socket was so worn it could barely hold his shoulder ball in place-- and frequently did NOT

 and that's why Mike decided to do this.

This is a sketch the surgeon made on our hospital whiteboard, but after he erased the "before" illustration of bone spurs, etc. And he explained how much better shape the scapula was for receiving the replacement part than they thought it would be. No bone graft was necessary. 

It is truly amazing what modern medicine can do these days. And we are very grateful!

Nice, smooth scar.

And look how comfy he is on the sofa without his sling!