Dr. Timothy K. Durnin - 8/10/2007

Question
QUESTION: OK, first let me tell you a little about myself.  I am a 32 (Tuesday, I'll be 33) female.  I have been having should problems since 2002. In 2002 I had rotator cuff surgery then about 6 months later, on the same shoulder I had a torn ligament and it required surgery again.  After that I did good til 2005, so of course I went back and he gave me a Cortisone shot and that seemed to work for about a year.  In Aug. 2006, I had more pain so I went back to my Orthopedic surgeon again and this time, along with another x-ray, he gave me the Hyalgin shot, it was a series of 3.  But he told me I have severe arthritis and Avascular Necrosis and I would need to have a shoulder replacement.  I told him I would just stick with the Hyalgin shots for now, but then he told me that when my shoulder gets worse and it will get worse, I will be begging him to do the shoulder replacement.  Now again, my shoulder is hurting really bad again, it cracks when I move my arm, and it gets stuck in one spot and I can't move it, I have to take my other arm to move it.  So I go back, to see if I could get another series of the Hyalgin, this time he tells me I can't have anymore.  I have to have the shoulder replacement.  He did another x-ray and said my shoulder has progressively gotten worse.  Now, not only do I have arthritis and avascular necrosis, but I also have a bone spur.  Now, I'm not 100% convinced that he didn't cause some of these problems with my shoulder when he did one of my surgeries.  I really don't trust this doctor, I have also known other people who went to him and they too had to have several surgeries.  He has been in practice for 15 years but I'm just not sure if I trust him to do this.  I have 2 small children and I can't go through another messed up surgery.  Do you think with my symptoms I would need a shoulder replacement or can I do something else?  What would you recommend I do next? I live in a small area and there aren't that many Orthopedic surgeons in my area. I'm worried that my shoulder may never be the same.  I never dreamed in 2002 that I would be going through all these problems. Please help.

ANSWER: Hi Chrisie,

Go with your gut on this, I smell a rat. AVN is not a usual outcome of RC repair. If you have to travel a thousand miles, do it. It's worth the inconvenience because you only get one body. If this guy screwed it up, an Ortho from far away can testify to that fact. If they are near, well, you guessed it, no chance of them ratting each other out. Get a different doctor, no question about it.


Good Luck!

Dr. Timothy Durnin
drs.chiroweb.com

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: so do you think that with my symptoms I should consider a shoulder replacement, not with this doctor of course, but with another doctor, or is there something else I can do?

Answer
If the doctor is correct and your shoulder bone is dead (AVN) you will definitely need replacement. The sooner the better, if it propagates distally down the arm, you may loose it. Get a second opinion first to be sure that Dx if even correct. If it is, replacement is the only option.

Let me know how it goes please, these cases (screw ups) really get my blood boiling!


Good Luck!

Dr. T