Shoulder surgery during clinical years

[augeremt]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Has anyone had shoulder surgery during MS3 or MS4?

I'm seriously considering getting my labrum fixed within the next year or so because life is getting rather unbearable, which puts me right smack in the middle of clinical rotations. To make matters worse, it's my super dominant hand.

Is this feasible? Has anyone done it? What rotations are shoulder-light? As in, you barely have to use your arm/shoulder, if at all. Were you able to make PT appointments?

I'm trying to time this so it doesn't impact too many rotations. We don't have any research time built into our curriculum, unfortunately.

 

[bc65]

Ask your surgeon. She will know what the recovery will be like, and also what med school is like.

 

[onceawolverine]

As a first year medical student, I feel rather qualified to answer this question.
As we learned in anatomy, the labrum is actually a myth perpetuated by anatomists. Whenever students ask "where is the labrum" it's a cue for every anatomist in the lab to surreptitiously pull out a vial of Captain Morgan's from inside their formaldehyde-soaked coats and say "you mean THIS LAB RUM??" wink, laugh at their own joke, and then take a giant swig.
Don't ask your surgeon what a labrum is. He won't get it. It's an inside joke for anatomists only.


No but seriously, you should talk to the surgeon involved to get a better picture of recovery times. You should also seek counsel from any of the following: any kind of advisor or preceptor you have, an older medical student who completed those rotations, a wellness advisor with some experience navigating these things, your primary care doc, a physical therapist, etc.
Without some knowledge about how aversive your symptoms are right now, what kinds of strains you put yourself under on a daily basis, and what the outcome for your particular surgery would be, nobody on the internet will be able to give you as good advice as any of the people I mentioned above.
Good luck, stay safe, and don't drink white rum.

 

[augeremt]

We've already discussed recovery time such as when I can do what with my arm. Now I'm trying to fit in the physical demands of clinical rotations with the timeline of recovery. I figured med students would have a better idea of actual demands than my orthopedic surgeon who probably hasn't done an abdominal exam since his intern year may moons ago.

My orthopod started the discussion with, "I know now is not a good time for surgery..." so I'm trying to make a crappy time less crappy if possible. Mostly, I want to figure out an order for rotations before it's due in the coming months to front-load with easy-on-the-arm ones first, as well as ones that would allow me to make PT. Who knew being in med school would be so physically demanding?

I've asked around school but you guys are a much larger sample size, hence the post. The more info, the better.

Thanks for the responses!

 

[hunterjumper14]

I'm an MS3 and I'm having my labrum repaired (acetabular labrum, though 😉) right before my 2 week christmas vacation. I have psych in January (one of the easier rotations). It's not ideal, and I've been waiting forever for those 2 back to back weeks! What about the beginning of 4th year? Do you have any flexibility to take a month off? If you want to shoot for MS3, wait until you have your schedule and then see if there's a time that you can fit it in. I didn't request psych in January, but it might not be a bad idea to request psych after any vacation time you have third year to maximize your recovery and PT.

Sorry about your labrum 😕

 

[jesspt]

We've already discussed recovery time such as when I can do what with my arm. Now I'm trying to fit in the physical demands of clinical rotations with the timeline of recovery. I figured med students would have a better idea of actual demands than my orthopedic surgeon who probably hasn't done an abdominal exam since his intern year may moons ago.

My orthopod started the discussion with, "I know now is not a good time for surgery..." so I'm trying to make a crappy time less crappy if possible. Mostly, I want to figure out an order for rotations before it's due in the coming months to front-load with easy-on-the-arm ones first, as well as ones that would allow me to make PT. Who knew being in med school would be so physically demanding?

I've asked around school but you guys are a much larger sample size, hence the post. The more info, the better.

Thanks for the responses!

Well, you're likely to be in a sling with an abductor pillow for 4-6 weeks, which is going to make using your arm for a patient exam almost impossible. If it only ends up being a labral repair (which is not a guarantee, as they may elect to repair a full thickness tear of the cuff if they see one once the scope is in) they will often let you use your arm at waist level around 6 weeks but you'll still be limited in how much you can hold in your arm/hand at that point.

I don't know anything about the physical demands of rotations, but would imagine that psych and rads do not require a lot of UE use.

 

[styphon]

Has anyone had shoulder surgery during MS3 or MS4?

I'm seriously considering getting my labrum fixed within the next year or so because life is getting rather unbearable, which puts me right smack in the middle of clinical rotations. To make matters worse, it's my super dominant hand.

Is this feasible? Has anyone done it? What rotations are shoulder-light? As in, you barely have to use your arm/shoulder, if at all. Were you able to make PT appointments?

I'm trying to time this so it doesn't impact too many rotations. We don't have any research time built into our curriculum, unfortunately.

I had injured my dominant shoulder end of 3rd year and needed a labrum repair. I scheduled the surgery the day after graduation (what a present) and spent the summer between MS4 and intern year recovering. I did not take the surgery/recovery too well and looking back I would do it the same way.

 

[dpmd]

I had injured my dominant shoulder end of 3rd year and needed a labrum repair. I scheduled the surgery the day after graduation (what a present) and spent the summer between MS4 and intern year recovering. I did not take the surgery/recovery too well and looking back I would do it the same way.

Truth. I spent the first week after my rotator cuff repair not leaving my recliner except to go to the bathroom and after that it was a challenge to do anything for a few weeks. When i went back to work (as an attending surgeon) I didn't do much examining myself. I mostly just supervised others and did notes. This was with my nondominant shoulder being operated on. If it had been my dominant side it would have been hard to even do that (electronic charts being the only thing keeping it from being impossible). Then when it came time for PT i went 3 times a week for an hour each visit which would not have been easy to do during a third year rotation (even psych had long enough hours that it would be tough to schedule unless the place was open late) and i did PT for months (mostly because i had no copay and my ortho and PT were willing to let me try to get back to almost normal function). Fourth year could work better, particularly if you can use vacation time strategically, just be aware that trying to travel for residency interviews post op will be tough (i flew for my oral board exam while still in my brace which sucked). Summer after graduation sounds a lot simpler and by the time internship starts you should be able to do your PT exercises on your own (or make friends with the in house PT folks) if you still have some rehabbing to do.

 

[augeremt]

If it only ends up being a labral repair (which is not a guarantee, as they may elect to repair a full thickness tear of the cuff if they see one once the scope is in)

Funny you say that because my ortho tried to lift my spirits by saying, "At least it's not a rotator cuff repair. Those are even worse!" (sorry @dpmd)

 

[augeremt]

I'm an MS3 and I'm having my labrum repaired (acetabular labrum, though 😉) right before my 2 week christmas vacation. I have psych in January (one of the easier rotations). It's not ideal, and I've been waiting forever for those 2 back to back weeks! What about the beginning of 4th year? Do you have any flexibility to take a month off? If you want to shoot for MS3, wait until you have your schedule and then see if there's a time that you can fit it in. I didn't request psych in January, but it might not be a bad idea to request psych after any vacation time you have third year to maximize your recovery and PT.

Sorry about your labrum 😕

We have 2 months of vacation for 3rd and 4th year combined, so I may dig into those. We also have a good chunk of time set aside for dedicated, meaning I can study for Step, take a mini vacation, and still have a couple of weeks for recovery. So if I bundle the tail end of dedicated + vacation + psych as my first rotation, I can probably make this work.

Labrums (labra?) are overrated. Happy healing!

I had injured my dominant shoulder end of 3rd year and needed a labrum repair. I scheduled the surgery the day after graduation (what a present) and spent the summer between MS4 and intern year recovering. I did not take the surgery/recovery too well and looking back I would do it the same way.

This is the other option. Use my entire vacation at the end of 4th year and do it then, but I don't know if I can wait that long. My arm is pretty useless these days.

 

[augeremt]

Truth. I spent the first week after my rotator cuff repair not leaving my recliner except to go to the bathroom and after that it was a challenge to do anything for a few weeks. When i went back to work (as an attending surgeon) I didn't do much examining myself. I mostly just supervised others and did notes. This was with my nondominant shoulder being operated on. If it had been my dominant side it would have been hard to even do that (electronic charts being the only thing keeping it from being impossible).

Yikes. That's exactly what I'm worried about, although I hear labrum repair is an "easier" recovery than rotator cuff pain- and time-wise.

Fourth year could work better, particularly if you can use vacation time strategically, just be aware that trying to travel for residency interviews post op will be tough (i flew for my oral board exam while still in my brace which sucked). Summer after graduation sounds a lot simpler and by the time internship starts you should be able to do your PT exercises on your own (or make friends with the in house PT folks) if you still have some rehabbing to do.

I'm trying to avoid this alternative but the more I talk to people and read posts like this, the more it becomes the most sensible option.

 

[dpmd]

Funny you say that because my ortho tried to lift my spirits by saying, "At least it's not a rotator cuff repair. Those are even worse!" (sorry @dpmd)

Good to know your surgery will have a less painful recovery. I had a nerve block that lasted until the next day (was weird having a paralyzed and numb hand) and started a cocktail of meds before it wore off on order to stay comfortable (prescription strength naproxen, flexeril, and nucynta-because hydrocodone and oxycodone just make me nauseated without affecting pain much- all around the clock for about the first week). Trust me when i say if you are taking the narcotic meds regularly be sure to take a stool softener. And if you don't have a recliner try to get one. It felt so much better than trying to lay flat.