Postponing wls

[AndreaNicole 1]

So I have a tear in my shoulder that needs repair but my last dietitian appointment is in a couple of days . Once approved for my wieghtloss surgery can I push it back until 6 weeks after my shoulder gets repaired? My surgeon for my shoulder said he would clear me 6weeks after my shoulder surgery.

[aNYCdb 310]

The simple answer is that you won't even have a surgical appointment until after you finish your dietitian classes, so just let the bariatric surgeon's office know about scheduling. The only concern would be some insurance need everything to have been completed within 6 months of surgery so if it gets pushed back far enough you may have to get some updated letters for whatever specialist you saw (or not every insurance company is different).

On a separate note do you know why both surgeries can't be performed the same day? Or alternatively if you can get your WLS first and not have to wait 6 weeks for the shoulder surgery?

[AndreaNicole 1]

Well my surgeon for my shoulder says my wls is an elective where as my shoulder tear is necessary. But I would want to ask my surgeon about doing the surgeries together I don’t understand why I can’t get wls first but it could be that the shoulder is workers comp injury . But I have my last appt on weds for my dietitian then I’ll be scheduled An appt with my surgeon and my papers would be submitted for approval for my insurance. My insurance only required basic medical test and 3 dietitians visits for 3 months an some computer modules. An a psych evaluation and I’ve done everything. I’ve been cleared by psych and all. So I have my last dietitian appt on weds .

[aNYCdb 310]

If they are being done at the same hospital I would see if you could get their offices to talk and see if they can work something out.

Edited April 16, 2018 by aNYCdb

[AndreaNicole 1]

They are both with promedica and my surgeries will be done at the same hospital. So I don’t see what the big issue is I’d rather kill two birds with one stone. 😊but I’m wondering how I would do the exercises if my arm is slinged.

[Bryn910 519]

you Should definitely do the shoulder first and let that heal until you get some good range of motion in the shoulder once again. Only because you’re gonna need that shoulder to pull up pants, shower, etc after you have your WLS. And things can get tricky in that dept. when you have decreased range of motion. I would also suspect you’re going to get physical therapy for the shoulder afterwards. And that can involve some tricky body maneuvering. Whether you’re laying on your belly, or bending over at your hip for doing shoulder exercises.

You should feel fine after 6 weeks once your shoulder heal. Six weeks really isn’t that long to wait. And doing both at the same time will compromise either surgery really for some of the reasons stated above...if you can’t lay on your belly then you can’t do shoulder exercises or you can’t bed at the hip cause you may still have incision pain, etc.

oh, and I am a physical therapist lol

[Mhy12784 423]

Unless your job has some really incredible benefits, or you're extremely rich. I would try to work out a way to have them close to each other to reduce the amount of time you're off work and maximize your time available to recover.

I'm not really sure why your shoulder surgeon would have to "clear you" for bariatric surgery. I've done bariatric surgery on patients days after having orthopedic surgery and vice versa. Hell I've done bariatric cases on patients with casts boots etc etc.

Is it common no. But shoulder surgery will have no bearing on your ability to walk or drink fluids. True you won't be able to take anti inflammatories or steroids after, but many bariatric patients can't have those anyway

Edit ID say it really depends how long you'd have to be out of work from the shoulder surgery. If that's only a few days I guess it's not a big deal. If that's longer, you might have to evaluate the benefit time/financial aspect

Edited April 16, 2018 by Mhy12784

[AndreaNicole 1]

Thank you guys so much. 😊 I’m a state employee and I’m currently not at work because of being attacked by a client and getting this shoulder injury. The therapist I seen did tell me I probably should get the shoulder done first. And my ortho surgeon said my wls was an elective not priority