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17845748 tn?1460665962

Reverse Shoulder Replacement

Hello all, this is my first post, please bear with me? I'm 56 years old and have been told I need a reverse shoulder replacement. I have severe, trauma induced osteoarthritis, it's bone on bone and greatly limits what I can do. I'm seeing a pain management doctor after 3 years of this pain. I also receive cortizone injections which help.

I was hit by an SUV while crossing the street 6 years ago and broke 19 bones, all on the left side from my hip to head, clavicle included. To further complicate the matter the humerus (same arm) was demolished and has 6" of titanium holding it together. My surgeon said he may need to move that a bit so the stem of the shoulder replacement will have enough room.

He has performed many of these, has determined that it probably won't ease my pain and is very hesitant to perform the sugery. He expressed that there is no surgery to "fall back on" if the reverse replacement fails (a regular shoulder replacement has the reverse replacement to  try if the initial surgery fails). This is of concern because the life of the reverse shoulder replacement is only 20 years.

Let me say that I understand his reluctance, I respect and agree with his reasoning. Since it's bone on bone,  how much worse will it get to make the surgery more necessary?

Thanks for reading my saga, I'd appreciate any thoughts/ideas that you may have.
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Avatar universal
Has a Rheumatologist offered this new injection that I compare to the tin man's oil. It's supposed to help bone on bone especially. I'm going to try it ASAP!
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