Eight weeks post Latarjet surgery - Follow up examination


May 14th

I am eight weeks post Latarjet surgery now and the recovery process seems to be going well. Everything so far has progressed according to plan. I continued to do passive shoulder movement exercises with therapists and at home until the 5th week which is when we started assisted movements.

After the sixth week, physical therapy progressed to more active movements and there were no movement restrictions anymore. We pushed the limit day by day; the main guidance was pain and when I felt that we reached the maximum of what was possible. It is really important to never do things that are painful. Always stop when it starts to hurt.

So, I am now eight weeks in and I am able to use my right arm almost normally in my daily activities. Step by step I started brushing my teeth again with the right hand, cleaning dishes, etc. All movements are allowed as long as I don’t feel pain and as long as I am not carrying heavy things. Also, external rotation in high abduction is still a no-no.

Every now and then – especially when I do my exercises – I feel a little “plopping” or “clicking” in my shoulder. According to my surgeon and therapists, this is nothing I should worry about as long as it doesn’t hurt. The shoulder is still adjusting to the new physiology and it will take a while to feel completely normal.

A couple of days ago (7-8 weeks post-surgery), I visited my surgeon for a check-up. He checked my posture which looked good and measured my ROM. I was able to achieve 100° flex, 90° abduction, 30° external rotation with active motion and 120° flex, 110° abduction and 40° external rotation with passive motion. He was happy with the results and said that he would have been concerned if my ROM had been better after eight weeks. He recommended to continue with physical therapy twice a week and to continue doing home exercises.

The x-rays also looked good and showed that everything is ok with the bone graft and the two screws. Ultrasound also didn’t show anything out of the ordinary, the scar healed very well, so I am happy with the results so far.



I will continue physical therapy for at least two more months, twice a week and will see the surgeon again in two months, so four months post-surgery for a final follow up.

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