I posed this question over on the Inspire site but thought I'd see if I can get a doctor's opinion.
I had VATS for ULL in May 2013. I went into surgery with no left shoulder pain...I came out of surgery with left shoulder pain (amongst all the other pains associated with VATS).
Over the last year and a half my left shoulder has continued to hurt. Finally had a MRI of my shoulder yesterday and it shows that I have a focal tear of the posterior labrum :(
I've watched a couple of youtube videos of pre-surgery prep for VATS and the arm is placed up and somewhat overhead. From the little bit I've read, posterior tears are rare and usually happen when the rotator cuff and labrum are pinched together in the back of the shoulder.
Like I said, I never had any problems with my shoulder before surgery and I woke up in recovery with it hurting. I'm not complaining very much though because VATS saved my life :) I just wondered if anyone else had a similar problem.
Thanks!
Sandy
Reply # - July 25, 2014, 06:47 PM
Reply To: VATS/shoulder question
I haven't heard of this specific problem, but it's believable that you could have some complication, even rarely a long-term effect, from the positioning of a surgery. I think the lung surgeon may be able to provide some idea of how common this is.
If it's bothersome enough, it may be valuable to see an orthopedic surgery.specialist. I don't know that surgery would be advised, but they may have suggestions of what might be help.
Good luck.
-Dr. West