elbow surgery need help!

[pelly789]

hey guys i just had elbow surgery last wednesday. I had a bursectamy in my left elbow and apparently the doctor told my mom the bursitis wasnt that bad but he trimmed and tightened a muscle in my elbow. while he was in surgery he also gave me a cortisone shot in my other elbow since i have bursitis in both of them. The one he did operate on is very sore still and it has been almost 6 days since the surgery and the elbow he put cortisone into is bruised looking and very sore also. Does anyone know why it is that the cortisone shot is making my elbow more inflammed and bruised looking. i think im going to a second doctor to get another opinion because i am not happy at all with this doctor. Can anyone give me any insight or advice on what i should do? Thanks in advance

Dave

[StevePJC]

Bro surgery is surgery. You're going to be sore and bruised for a bit. I have had to had bone chips taken out of my left elbow on three separate occasions. Each time it's taken about a month for me to feel like I had some decent mobility in them.

Gotta give it time. What's your Physical Therapy plan?

[pelly789]

not sure yet what my pt plan is i havent followed up with the doctor. the thing is i know the elbow he operated on is going to hurt but he also gave me a cortisone shot in the one he didnt operate on and that is also very sore and bruised, is that normal too?

[StevePJC]

Cortisone can be a Godsend when it comes to a joint problem but it can also be the devil if used too much. Did you ask him why he injected your good elbow? The only possible reason I can think of is that a Bursectomy is for a chronic inflammation problem. He may have thought a cortisone shot in the other elbow was a precautionary measure.

If you're not comfortable with him definately see a different doctor. Don't screw around when it comes to your joints. A bum elbow will haunt you. Even though a Bursectomy is relatively minor you should be doing some sort of PT to restrengthen the area and prevent stiffening of the tendons.

You a ballplayer? Curious as to what sparked your elbow problems in the first place.

[pelly789]

both elbows were inflammed but my left one was worse, and it persisted for over three months so thats why i had the surgery. I'm not too sure what caused it, maybe overtraining. the elbow that was "good" was injected to try and prevent it getting to the stage my operated elbow was at. nothing traumatic caused this it kind of appeared out of the blue and it became very painful and bruised looking. I'm not sure what i should do from here

[pelly789]

I just wanted to update you guys on what happened. Yesterday i saw the doctor to get the sticthes out of my elbow and he said he " made up" an operation to fix what was wrong with my elbow. Apparently there was muscle growing over my bursa, which he diagnosed me with bursitis. He said when he went in and saw what was happening that my bursitis was not that bad but it was muscle growing over it that was causing the pain and discomfort. He also told me hes never seen something like that before.