So the follow up visit to the MRI with Dr. Labbe went about as expected. Surgery is still an option, not a necessity, but I've decided that I don't want to go through life worrying if stupid things like jumping jacks or stretching are going to dislocate my shoulder again. So the doc's going to re-attach my labrum to the socket, but to do that they have to drill at least three small holes in the bone to set polymer-composite anchors so they have something to initially attach the labrum to. Yay. At least it's arthroscopic. On top of that, he'll have to effectively score the bone - rough it up and "make it bleed" (his words - can bones really bleed?) so that the labrum can eventually grow back tightly in the right place.
As much fun as the actual surgery sounds, the recovery will be much more of a test. Assuming surgery is on a Wednesday, I could go back to work Monday at the earliest. That's a hell of a lot more initial recovery time than I'd hoped. After that, it's 4 weeks of immobility, then 6-8 weeks of physical therapy to get range of motion and then strength back. Of course, it will be a 6 - 12 months before it's back to normal, but then I hopefully won't have to worry about random silly dislocations any more. Egads, I hope it's worth it.
To be honest, it seems that Dr. Labbe really knows what he's doing. At the Houston Bone and Joint Clinic of 8 or 9 doctors, he's the shoulder, elbow and knee specialist, and is a really nice guy to boot. I'm not worried that he'll screw anything up, just a bit apprehensive in general. As of now, I'm not sure of a surgery date, but October 11 or 12 seem the most likely candidates.
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