For decades, traditional and highly invasive shoulder surgery methods have left patients with lengthy recovery times, pain, and far from ideal approaches to treating serious shoulder injuries. Traditional approaches leave much to be desired in the way of properly addressing patient-specific shoulder surgery needs. Now, arthroscopic biologic total shoulder resurfacing (ABTSR) can address shoulder issues that have plagued patients for years. This minimally invasive shoulder surgery is an outpatient surgery, meaning that you’ll return home the same day as you undergo your ABTSR surgery. Moreover, ABTSR offers quicker, better recovery time, getting you back on your feet and back to the things that matter most in your life. But who’s right for this revolutionary surgery? Most patients are proper candidates, but there are some indicators that aid in deciding if ABTSR is right for you. Read on to learn more.
While some patients above 50 years of age can undergo ABTSR, the ideal age is under 50. While this age isn’t hard and fast, it is a reliable indicator for patients whose bodies are healthy enough to withstand invasive surgery, even as minimally invasive as ABTSR. Typically, patients who are younger than 50 years of age have had less wear and tear on their bodies, resulting in quicker healing times and immune response. More often than not, these patients have had more or less active lifestyles or haven’t experienced compounding health complications. When you schedule a consultation with Dr. Kovack, you’ll discuss your health history, injuries, and the best course of action for your potentially forthcoming ABTSR surgery. Again, this age isn’t a hard and fast number, but it does give us a better idea of which patients are more in line with both the surgery and recovery/physical therapy.
While we briefly touched on this aspect in the above paragraph, we can’t stress enough the importance of maintaining an active lifestyle — and not just for shoulder surgery. When you remain physically active, you’re allowing your body to function its best and in the manner for which it was designed. However, a shoulder injury may be the result of you staying physically active; we see numerous injuries or compounded injuries that were minor but compounded over time with other, often more serious, injuries. Again, physically active patients are ideal candidates for ABTSR as it’s an indicator of how the patient’s body will respond post-surgery, as well as how responsive the patient will be to physical therapy.
Arthroscopic Biologic Total Shoulder Resurfacing requires that your shoulder is flexible enough to respond to the surgery. Of course, you wouldn’t be seeking ABTSR if your shoulder were working properly. However, the ideal candidate will have a relatively flexible and responsive shoulder going into surgery. If you meet the ideal candidate criteria or feel that ABTSR could benefit you and your shoulder condition, don’t hesitate to reach out to us today to learn more or to schedule an appointment with Dr. Kovack.
