I did not have a pec minor release; it wasn't indicated in my case; I don't know how that will affect recovery. I do know that if Dr. P gets in there and figures out it isn't necessary for you after all, he won't do it. He had initially thought my surgery would be more extensive than it ended up being, but once he got started and could actually see what he was dealing with, he changed course.

Since surgery, I have only rarely had pain that travels down the arm into the hand, and it was nothing like it was before surgery - it's more of an uncomfortable annoyance rather than the severe pain it once was. I actually haven't had that happen at all in the last week. I have not experienced the pain in the "front" of the shoulder - i.e. chest & axillary region - at all since surgery. There has been some tightness there that I'm still working out in PT, but it doesn't hurt.

I am still having some pain along the medial border of the scapula, and sometimes up the right side of my neck - these were my worst pain areas prior to surgery - but it is no longer a constant pain, and the severity is a lot less. Dr. P said I should expect the scapular area pain to take the longest to resolve, as it's almost entirely nerve-related, so at least that wasn't a surprise. My PT also says that I've been using my body wrong for most of my life, trying to alleviate the pain, and that, other than the latissimus dorsi, my back muscles are ridiculously weak (I'm not sure I've ever properly engaged my lower trap in my life prior to this) and my posture is terrible, so I've got a ways to go to get things resolved in shoulder fitness/support.

I am hopeful that, since I am only 2 months into recovery, my condition will improve even more, but if it doesn't, I could at least live like this. I can drive, I can work, and I can sleep - an enormous improvement over the last 3 years. I would, of course, prefer to improve enough to be able to get fit again and enjoy things (like horseback riding) that are like a distant memory right now - and that's still the ultimate goal, but I'm so grateful for the quality of life I've got at this point.

Best of luck to you, and keep us posted on how you're doing!