Peter, rower

Peter was struggling to sleep and cope with everyday activities due to the pain in his shoulder and wanted to be pain-free and have full mobility in his shoulder again.

The pain in 53-year-old office worker and keen rower Peter’s right shoulder gradually worsened over a six-month period. Painkillers and physio were not helping, and he was having trouble sleeping as the pain intensified at night, especially as he normally slept on his right side. He was unable to lift anything heavy or play any sport and had limited movement in his arm.

Peter wanted to return his shoulder to full, pain-free mobility, so he looked on the internet for a specialist shoulder surgeon and got a referral from his GP to Mr Ioannis Polyzois.

An MRI scan revealed a partial tear of the supraspinatus rotator cuff tendon (one of the tendons covering the upper arm bone at the shoulder joint) and evidence of degeneration at the acromioclavicular (AC) joint (where the collarbone meets the shoulder blade).

​Mr Polyzois prescribed ultrasound-guided injections and a course of physio, which initially worked well, but on review five months later, the pain had returned. Mr Polyzois decided that surgery was now necessary and performed a right shoulder arthroscopic subacromial decompression (keyhole surgery to stop the bones and tendons rubbing against one another) and AC joint excision (degenerate soft tissue is removed and 5mm of collarbone cut away) to prevent painful contact.

​Peter healed beautifully and enjoyed a superb recovery. Four weeks after the surgery and physio he has almost full mobility back with no pain. His sleeping has improved significantly, and he has started doing strengthening exercises and hopes to go back to rowing.

Peter would advise anyone with a shoulder problem to obtain a referral to Mr Polyzois to understand the full range of options they have regarding treatment. He says: “I have experienced excellent care and treatment from the initial consultation to the post-operative reviews. Mr Polyzois explained exactly what would happen in the surgery and the likely recovery period. Only four weeks after the surgery I am pain-free and have nearly full mobility in my shoulder. I thank him and would recommend him to anyone who has shoulder or upper limb problems.”

March 2019