2nd shoulder dislocation surgery

I'm new here so bare with me. What is the likelihood of surgery after 2nd shoulder dislocation on NHS?

I dislocated my shoulder for the 2nd time (non-traumatic, i was swimming) last month and was supposed to have an MRI in the US. However due to circumstances, my grandma died just before my MRI and I had to leave and fly to Indonesia. My question is will I be given a scan and surgery on the NHS when I return to England and is there a time limit on the how soon i need to have surgery?

I had shoulder stabilisation surgery after my 2nd dislocation on my other shoulder but that was on private healthcare. I'm worried I'm 23 and I don't want it to keep coming out

[PFKAAde]

Hi kiki

Are you from the UK originally? If you are a UK citizen and are registered with a GP then I would say that they are your first port of call.

It will be up to them if they think your situation then warrants further investigation and / or treatment. I'm guessing there is an inherent problem with your shoulders, as they don't 'usually' just dislocate repeatedly? Who have you seen with regards this in the past?

I'd have thought if you have a GP here that they would refer you on to an orthopaedic shoulder specialist who would then decide if you need a scan (and what sort). Following the results of this scan they would then decide if surgery was the best option or if there were other approaches that may benefit you more. Or the GP may request a scan / X-ray to help them decide whether to refer you for further investigation. It all depends on your medical history / conditions and GP.

With regards the timing, I would say there isn't a time limit per se, but depending on the reason for your repeated dislocations, the longer you leave it the higher the chances of further complications. Put another way, see them as soon as you can, there is no benefit that I can think of in waiting - assuming you have a choice.

Tl;dr: if you qualify for treatment on the NHS, then it should be a medical decision; if you need / would benefit from scans and / or surgery they should do them.

IMHO.

Ade

[Hidden in reply to PFKAAde]

Yeah I'm from the UK and the reason I'm concerned about the time is it will be 1month1 week from the accident when i will see my GP and then still need to wait for referral to orthopaedic. By the time that's all sorted out I feel like the NHS might turn around and say well it's already been a month and half the labrum tear has already partly healed. I have the option of paying to see the Dr here right now in Indonesia but i don't know how reliable they are here in comparison that is my situation.

TLDR - 2 options 1month1wk before GP appointment and further wait on NHS or see a Dr in Indonesia now but unknown quality of care

[PFKAAde in reply to Hidden]

Ah, ok. Don't know the first thing about Indonesia or their standards of medical care, I'm sure (like here) there are good and not so good!

Tough choice, is paying an option when you return? That way you could still get the surgery done here (or at least it wouldn't be turned down due to cost) and you could pick a specialist you were comfortable with. I'm guessing it wouldn't be cheap though, the last surgery I had privately (through insurance thankfully) was >£12k including hospital accommodation fees. That was an emergency spinal surgery that lasted 4 hours and took 5 days in hospital afterwards mind.

[belle623]

Hi KLkl

My condolences about your Grandmother. In regards to your shoulder, it depends what the MRI showed. Is your labrum torn, is the shoulder capsule out of the joint? Rotator cuff in tact? Is there any other damage done by the initial dislocation?

The stype of surgery you're looking for is refered to as the "Bankart" proceedure. It tetheres the humerus up into the socket part of the joint . Setteling more securly under your clavicle. This way you can swim and have full rotation with out dislocation. PT is through and long; but well worth it.

I hope you feel better!

Ash

[Hidden in reply to belle623]

Ash,

Thank you for the words. I already know from the xray there is a small hill-sachs lesion so I'll just have to wait and see what the GP says.