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Ask the Orthopedist

By REUBEN GOBEZIE, MD

QUESTION

Is it possible to have shoulder replacement surgery as an outpatient procedure?

ANSWER

Yes. Orthopedic surgeons who specialize in shoulder surgery are now providing patients with the outpatient option when it applies to their condition. People love the outpatient experience and recover better when they are at home.

When provided by a specialist, the surgery may only take 35 minutes in a highly controlled environment and results in little blood loss. The less time that you are under anesthesia, the better the recovery. There is less risk of infection, increased patient satisfaction and higher quality outcomes based on function and pain with a home recovery. Patients walk out with their arm in a sling and are home the same day.

In the weeks leading up to surgery, each patient and their caregiver should be provided with educational information and a prescription for physical therapy. For example, our practice offers a series of physical therapy videos that patients study before the surgery and work on at home post-surgery. The videos illustrate the exercises, and the education offers very specific goals that each patient needs to meet to recover faster.

The outpatient surgery and home rehabilitation option saves patients considerable time and money. Most patients are able to use their arm enough to care for themselves within a week after the procedure. After three months of follow-up appointments, the patient no longer requires office visits, but the atrophy from the initial injury could take up to a year to fully improve.

While a large percentage of patients are candidates for outpatient shoulder surgery, it’s not for everyone. Patients with complicated medical histories may not qualify. Each patient should be carefully examined to determine the procedure that will work best for them.

All shoulder conditions should be evaluated by a shoulder specialist with a thorough history and physical examination including imaging studies.

Individual concert tickets for The Cleveland Orchestra’s 2017-18 Season and 100^th year of concerts go on sale on Tuesday, August 1, 2017, online at clevelandorchestra.com, by phone at 216-231-1111, and in person at the Severance Hall Ticket Office.  The season marks the launch of the Orchestra’s Second Century and is the 16th year of its acclaimed partnership with Franz Welser-Möst.

Our July/August Boomer has a story about the fun, quirky and festive farmers market experience. But did you know that farmers markets are vital sources for nutritional food in inner city neighborhoods that have few grocery stores?

The Gateway 105 Farmers’ Market, in Cleveland Ohio, is a part of a county-wide farmers’ market nutrition incentive program, “Produce Perks.” In this video, vendors and customers discuss the health and economic benefits of a farmers’ market-based nutrition incentive program.

If you’ve turned 65 or are getting close to it, you’re likely swamped with information about Medicare plan options such as prescription drug plans, supplemental health insurance policies and Medicare Advantage plans.

Some folks may enjoy the challenge of figuring out the process of choosing health insurance coverage. After all, it’s important to choose the right coverage for your needs. However, if you’re not one of them, consider an appointment with a licensed sales agent who can help you navigate through the various options and help you get the right coverage for your health care needs.

Finding a Fit

Brokers (or agents) are licensed by the state and undergo annual required training and testing by the plans they sell.

There’s no cost for the service offered by a licensed sales agent because the agent is paid a commission by the private insurance carrier based on your enrollment in the plan.

 Consider meeting with an agent before you turn 65 so you can anticipate costs and coverage. Caregivers or family members who are helping make these decisions can participate in the meeting, too.

A licensed sales agent assures that your enrollment application gets properly completed, follows up with the carrier to ensure timely processing, and provides notification of your enrollment status.

The agent also will research prescription drug plans (PDP) because each has a list of covered drugs. An agent can help determine if your drugs are covered,  the co-pays associated with a plan and which plans to offer the best benefits for your situation.

In addition, the sales agent also verifies that your doctors, hospitals and other medical providers are in-network. This is an important step before selecting a plan because many Medicare plans have a network of doctors that they use.

An agent follows up annually to discuss changes to your medical needs, to discuss any upcoming changes to your current policy, and to provide updates on the health insurance industry.

BOOM!

Pop Culture Chronicles

Bat Out of Hell

The Cleveland Connection

By Mike Olszewski

Boomers are big on anniversaries, and I’ll get to “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” in a bit, but let’s look at another landmark album that turns 40 in October.

Meat Loaf’s “Bat Out of Hell” sold 43 million copies on Cleveland International Records, the brainchild of the late, great Steve Popovich.

Popovich worked at Columbia/Epic and eventually started Cleveland International. I say this with the greatest respect, but sometimes he looked like he slept in his clothes.

Then you went into his office and there are the photos with Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, and on and on. Popovich told Columbia Records to sign Michael Jackson as a solo artist, and there was a photo with him, too.

He insisted that my wife, Janice, and I come out to see this 9-year-old kid singer he was promoting; it was Hunter Hayes. This guy had a Midas touch and was generous to a fault.

Something’s Fishy

There was an ethnic bar on the west side that was famous for its fish fries. A bunch of us, eight or nine radio and record people, were knocking back beers and eating like kings when the door opens and it’s Steve. He came in for take-out, and while he was waiting he sat with us.

When his dinner came he looked at me and said, “Michael, ask me how’s business.”

All right, I’ll bite. “How’s business Steve?”

“Don’t ask.”

He picked up the whole table’s tab and wrote “business conference” on the receipt — the most expensive fish fry he ever bought.

He knew rock ’n’ roll, but he loved polkas. Ian Hunter of Mott the Hoople (“Cleveland Rocks”) was on his label and was sitting in his office one day.

Let Freedom Ring

Define Your Time

By Estelle Rodis-Brown

Ahh, freedom.

From the page of our nation’s Declaration of Independence to the pages of our lives, nothing’s quite so sweet as the intoxicating ring of freedom — the certain unalienable rights of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.

Yet, if you really think about it (or read the full Declaration), you must accept freedom from something before you can pursue freedom to something better.

Stretching Limits

After midlife, we experience a cascade of new freedoms, if we can see change in a positive light. Whether it’s a newly empty nest, the absence of a partner, retirement or downsizing, each change represents a freedom from old obligations and expectations. This opens up new possibilities: freedom.

Suddenly, you find yourself with time and space that you didn’t have before. Don’t fritter them away on daytime TV and falling into the same old ruts left over from that previous life. Instead, satisfy old longings you never gave yourself permission to pursue before. Join that class you were afraid someone else would think was silly. Take that trip you talked yourself out of before. Paint your living room that bold color you always wished you could. Reach out for better relationships. Because guess what? Now you can.

Big Changes, A Life Redefined

Perhaps no one better illustrates the dramatic before-and-after equation of life than Brenda Formberg of Ravenna.

When midlife hit Formberg, so did a slew of unwelcome changes: She divorced. Her daughter left for college. There was a second cancer diagnosis, job loss, and the resulting need to find a new home.

Her outlook seemed hopeless as pieces of her once-stable life fell apart. Eventually, Brenda emerged with renewed vigor for the pursuit of life, liberty and, yes, happiness.