Notes on Arthroscopic Surgery (Future Tense)

By the time anyone reads this, the main event will be over. A done deal. But in the present (now past) moment, it isn’t.

It refers to repairs on my wrecked right shoulder. Or partially wrecked. I described how it happened not long ago. At right is my “before” photo. There’s no “after” photo yet.

Turns out the injury is worse than I thought. A doctor looked at it. He poked and prodded. He made me move in painful ways. He suggested a month of physical therapy. When that didn’t help, he ordered an MRI.

The MRI report said, in part:

Acromioclalvicular Region: Moderate degenerative change acromioclavicular joint ... mild subacromial fluid collection.

Rotator cuff: Mild abnormal signal intensity and attenuation in the distal supraspinatus tendon. Mild abnormal signal intensity in the infraspinatus tendon ...

Biceps tendon: The long head biceps tendon subluxes over the lesser tuberosity into the distal subscapularis tendon of the distal 1 cm deep ...

Translation: you got some problems. So he’s going to cut me open. Arthroscopic surgery. What they call minimally invasive.

By the time it’s over I’ll have a hole in my shoulder the size of a – well, I don’t know what. The surgeon, in his clinical detachment, calls this hole a “port.” As I understand it, a scope is snaked through the port, and the procedure, this repair work, is done robotically.

My date with the arthroscope is July 12. It’s outpatient stuff. From the time I arrive at the surgical center until the time I leave, approximately five hours will elapse. Or so I’m told.

This post is, in effect, future tense. In The Devil’s Dictionary, Ambrose Bierce defined future as “that period of time in which our affairs prosper, our friends are true and our happiness is assured.”

At left is a hypothetical “after” photo. I expect to be wearing a sling much like this one for ten days or so.

Then comes the rehab!