I had a slip fall on a trecherous driveway in 2015 when I was located in Cairns and was only x rayed and given cortizone. At my age (then 50) and given that it was a traumatic injury, I SHOULD have been operated on immediately.
I tore the superspinatus, the bicep off the bone and the deltoid off the bone.
The assholes in Cairns should have operated immediately, however without performing an ultrasound the x ray showed no major issues..
i then moved to the Central West and was checked out at Dubbo, I had the operation there with the Sydney Specialist supervising (under the public system) and four weeks later discovered pus weeping from the wound.
Septic Shoulder usually kills 25% of the people infected. I was lucky pus was weeping...
Two other individuals who were operated on at Dubbo also suffered post
op infesctions, making 100% of the people I knew who had surgery at Dubbo suffreing post
op infections.
Two more ops and a week in hospital in Orange and I was put on IV antibiotics with a Baxter pump into my arm for four weeks.
Daily changes to the pump (like a baby bottle worn around the waist in a bumbag) and fresh AB each day...
Turns out the Orange prescribed antibiotic was only active for 8 hours. I was prescribed the wrong antibiotic!
immobilised for six weeks, limited physio on recovery.
Upshot of it all, the arm is not much better than before the surgery, limited overhead strength and inabiliity to climb out of a pool without the steps....
Another slip fall on wet leaves walking the dog on the OTHER shoulder, ultrasound diagnosis of tear in the OTHER superspinatus and guess what? I decided not to have the
op on the other arm and the arm strength is the same in both arms...
The driveway I slipped on was a place where I was paying for temporary accomodation for a week during a couple of moves.
The owner of the property had no insurance on the place and my " No Win No Fee" lawyers decided not to proceed with the claim against the property owner (After almost three years of stating that they would.)
Should have had the rest of my life off work.... and the pain and mental stress have premmaturely aged me...
just so you are aware of all the risks...