Bianca Russo

In 2014, after months of pain and stiffness in my left shoulder, I went to see Dr. Stephen Fealy, who came highly recommended by my manager, who had both knees replaced by him. He ordered an MRI, which showed severe osteoarthritis, possibly a result of my advanced scoliosis of the spine which was pushing on my left shoulder blade (more about my scoliosis on my other Back in the Game story). Dr. Fealy recommended outpatient orthoscopic surgery to remove floating cartilage and repair a bicep tendon tear, which I had in the Spring of 2015. After recovering from the surgery and physical therapy, I felt much better. Around that time, I also started seeing Dr. James Wyss, an HSS physiatrist, to help manage my scoliosis back pain. Around a year later, my shoulder started to act up again. Dr. Wyss gave me a cortisone shot, which really helped for almost a year. But by early 2017 my shoulder was getting more painful and a second shot did not help. I could barely use my left arm and couldn’t raise it above my head. Dr. Wyss and Dr. Fealy made clear that my only alternative was a total shoulder replacement. So in September 2017 I went into HSS for that. A great decision. Surgery went very well and while I did not react well to my pain meds (I am sensitive to opiates), I recovered very well. After several months of physical therapy, by Spring 2018 my shoulder was almost back to normal. As you can see from the photos, I was back at my gym and able to do a side plank and raise my left arm with no pain! My left shoulder is like new now (December 2019) and I have no pain and great flexibility. My right shoulder started to be painful and stiff earlier this year and I would have no hesitation to replace it when it gets really bad. Dr. Fealy is great, and his assistants and the HSS therapists have been fantastic. They gave me back my left arm. The hospital stay was good and the nurses and therapists at the hospital were terrific. And Dr. Wyss is a great resource for non-surgical orthopedic treatments and has given me great advice. Thanks HSS for getting me back in the game!