Have you been experiencing excruciating pain in your shoulder? It could be possible that you have a serious injury that needs to be treated with our care. At Dines Orthopedic, we can help diagnose and treat your injury by evaluating you and creating a specialized treatment plan that is accustomed to you. If we find that none of our non-invasive treatments are responding to your injury, we may have to do what is called a Shoulder Arthroscopy. Contact our orthopedic surgeon Mineola NY today.
What is an Arthroscopy?
Arthroscopy comes from a Greek origin of words containing “Arthro,” which means ‘joint,’ and “scopy,” which means ‘to look.’ The definition of this means “to look within the joint.” So basically, if we feel that an injury is not healing properly, we have to go into the shoulder joint and either diagnose or treat the problem while we are there. The scope lets us see what exactly is going on and tells us the next steps we need to take in order for you to make a full recovery.
Common Shoulder Arthroscopy Procedures
Shoulder arthroscopy will relieve debilitating symptoms of problems that damage the rotator cuff tendons, labrum, articular cartilage, and other soft tissues surrounding the joint. The most common procedures that are performed on shoulders using an arthroscopy are:
- Rotator cuff repair
- Removal or repair of the labrum
- Repair of ligaments
- Removal of inflamed tissue or loose cartilage
- Repair for recurrent shoulder dislocation
Nerve release, fracture repair, and cyst excision can also be performed using an arthroscopy but are much less common than those listed above.
What Can Cause These Types of Injuries?
- Injury
- Overuse
- Age-related wear and tear
Procedure
A shoulder arthroscopy procedure is minimally invasive and requires a few small incisions depending on the problem. Your surgeon will make a small puncture hole in your shoulder about the size of a buttonhole for the arthroscopy to go through. Fluid will be flowing through the scope for better visualization and to stop any bleeding that may occur. The live video of your shoulder will be displayed on the screen as your doctors examine the injury inside.
After your doctor clearly identifies the problem going on, they will then go in with tools through another incision to fix the injury. Specialized instruments are used for tasks like shaving, cutting, grasping, suture passing, and knot tying. After the surgery is complete, your surgeon may close your incisions with sutures or steri-strips and cover them with thick bandages. You will most likely need a sling for your recovery process.
Recovery
Your recovery will mostly depend on your case’s severity and how much work has to be done. It may take weeks or months for you to make a full recovery. In most cases, Arthroscopy surgery has a much less recovery time than regular surgery because of how minimally invasive it is. After surgery, you will be prescribed pain medication to help your body recover and get rest without any discomfort. The first few days after surgery, it may be beneficial to sleep in an upright position to take pressure off your shoulder and promote the healing process.
Rehabilitation
After you have officially healed the muscles and joints, your body needs to restore function with rehabilitation. Your surgeon will come up with a plan to get you back to full mobility. This can include attending psychical therapy and specific exercises for you to practice at home to further your recovery.
Contact Our Orthopedic Surgeon Mineola NY
Are you or a loved one experiencing any of these symptoms? Here at Dines Orthopedics, our orthopedic surgeon Mineola NY, we can help get your life back to normal. Call us today to make an appointment, and we can set you up with one of our very talented and professional doctors that can guide you in the right direction.