Should I have Surgery on the Other Side Now?
 

Hello,

This is always such a tough decision and process to put one's mind through.

I had surgery on one side five years ago. Surgery went very very well. My side improved and actually both sides improved. The elbow pressure on my surgery side went away and so did a lot of pain. However, my chest is still very numb from surgery and my pinky finger still goes numb from time to time. In general, surgery was good with some draw backs.

So, I am considering whether or not to do the other side now.
You'd think it would be so clear from having had surgery already.

I notice I am still getting pain and forearm pressure on my non-surgery side. Interesting, I am starting to get pain in the thoracic region of the non-surgery side (this is something I never experienced before).

If I don't treat this, will it just keep getting worse every year. I mean, I'd rather get it over with while I'm still young. I can get by without surgery for now.

Surgery itself was not difficult. But the 2 years after surgery, when I seem to be going around like a zombie with no sense of my mind, haha, 'surgery fog' is what I dislike.

Two interesting things: my surgery arm now hangs down 2 inches more than my non-surgery arm. I'm sure it is less 'hung up' in the shoulder region. Also, my surgery side's shoulder is very triangle like (look at any strong athlete's neck and you see a nice slope from their neck to their arm). But my non-surgery sides shoulder is very square and box like. It is like my shoulder is a flat shelf. hehe.

No one can tell someone to have surgery or not. But you can comment on my thinking and reasoning. Thank you.

A square shoulder means your side likely has overactive upper traps and levator scapula. Strengthen your rhomboids and chances are that the shoulder may even out. The rhomboids are downward rotators. So stop the exercises once you feel they have evened out. Good exercise for the rhomboid is the "prone cobra", do it gently so as to not hurt yourself.