Surgery now or later?

I would opt for the surgery now and play in the summer. That way when he'll be playing Varsity next year he will be easily at 100%

These are always tough decisions...but your son is probably not going to be able to perform at full capability until the problem is fixed and that could hurt his chances over the long run.

Plus there is always the possbility that he could further aggravate and tear the labrum more severely.

When ever my son was hurt or injured we took care of that as the top priority. Sooner you get him healed up the sooner he can get back to playing the way he wants to...not the way he can't.
JMO

Bssed on my son's experience of playng through an injury, it was a mistake. He should of bit the bullet, passed up the immediate season, had surgery and come back for the next year. That way you would not have to rush re-hab and could make sure all is done right.

Terk,
Sorry to hear about your son.
I hope all goes well in the decisions to be made.
At the outset, what you can receive from this site is, in effect, information that may help guide your decisions. IMO, the only advice you and your son should follow would be from the doctor, and a second opinion.
Coaches, friends, and others can't help.
With that said, I would tend to think the rehab and recovery time of 3-4 months is very optimistic.
For a labrum tear and surgical repair, you can start doing a combination of PT and strengthening at about 6 weeks. To regain a satisfactory range of motion and strength for baseball, you are likely looking at closer to 3-4 months, before your son can start throwing.
Throwing rehab can be variable but likely will have good days and set backs. You should likely plan on 8 weeks of throwing rehab. If your son gets lucky, great.
You should plan on 6 months for PT, rehab, strengthening, range of motion and throwing rehab. as opposed to 3-4.
Playing now, even as a DH, is a question of how much pain and instability he can endure combined with the risk of further injury/damage.
If you and your son want to maximize the opportunity his recovery will allow him to play as a junior in high school, you need to plan accordingly. Doctors, we have found, give things to hear that are mostly on the optimistic side.
Labral tears and repairs have much more variability in the timing and extent of recovery than TJ and other types of surgeries for baseball players.
One other item, when he has the surgery, make sure you know the surgeon and his experience with labral tears and baseball players. If you have any doubts, get a second opinion and have the surgery done by the doctor who has done these on baseball players, and has a track record of success.

Thank you all for your thoughtful advice and comments and particular thanks to Infielddad for your valuable perspective.

Terk7,

Make sure you read infielddads advise a few times before you make your decision.

Here's some advise from the dad of a tj survivor whos son was also was "asked" to wait by others. It's time to put on your "selfish hat" and do what's right for your son in the long run. If you have consensus opinions from the medical side, follow those, they know better than anyone else.

Forget the coaches/players friends etc----listen to the doctor

He is playing JV so he is not into the recruiting process as yet-I would get the surgery done now so he can begin the process of getting back into baseball shape this summer and fall and be ready for varsity next year

Have surgery now, rehab is about 8-10 months

I agree, if the doctor and the second opinion say surgery is needed, get it done and have him be on the road to recovery as soon as possible, the JV team will do fine without him.....

Some of the players who had to have surgery also stayed with the team at the practices and at the games around the doctor visits and physical therapy.

Terk7,

My thoughts go out to your player and to you.

I would suggest that you confirm with your doctor not only the rehab time, but the time it will take until your player can be reasonably expected to be back to 100%.

I would have to agree with Infielddad, rz1, TRhit,and Frank Martin. We have had two sons have labrum surgery. Recovery HAS to be a slow, step by step process, no good from hurrying. Even once released, it seems that it is a very long time before they are back to 100%, with many ups and downs along the way.

From our experience, it seems like it takes the longer end of what they tell you to expect of rehab, not the shorter end. Our two boys are very different physical types, but both are working hard to return to playing. It seems that if they push too hard, they have to back off. Impatience does not seem to support the process.

Our 15 year old had his surgery in October (just cleaning, no anchors or sutures). He hopes to start playing by this summer. He had originally thought this spring, but he hasn't been released to pick up a ball yet. From our older son's experience, once you are released to pick up a ball, it takes several months to work back to playing condition.

Each player is exactly different and the best advice you can get will be from the doctors and physical therapists that are working with your son. Make sure you ask specific questions. Make sure that you clearly understand the complete rehab timeline. Rehab is CRITICAL and can't be skipped.


Best of luck for a quick recovery!

Rehab time doesn't matter - if it's one day to one year it's something that must be done and done right. I am a high school coach and I have taken some mandatory medical classes and such but I have no earthly idea if a player of mine could DH or not.

In fact I wouldn't want him to play or practice until I heard from the doctor as to what he can and cannot do. Listen to your doctor and then get a second opinion. Develop a plan of attack with your doctor and stick to it - if the rehab takes 3 months or 9 months do as NIKE says - JUST DO IT.

If your coach is telling you and your son to wait that would be a red flag for me. I don't want to win games at the expense of the health of a player. Also, and this is not meant to be an insult to you or your son, but if I can't develop another player to take your son's spot then I am doing a poor job of coaching. I would hope I have a problem of having two good players I need to find time for after your son would recover.

Another thought:


He plays this spring and does more damage and this is just JV ball---what if he cannot play next year on the varsity because of damage done this spring

Think about it

Do it now !!!!

Update - we saw the doctor again today and confirmed that surgery is necessary. He said it was up to us whether to do the surgery now or after the season and he wasn't concerned about risk of futher injury by playing in the interim (as DH). That said, we are going to go ahead with the surgery now rather than later. Interesting footnote given some of the comments on this board. The coach was very classy and supportive. He told my son that as much as he would miss his bat in the line-up he supported my son's decision to get his shoulder fixed now and get ready for junior year.

I think you are making the right decision by having the surgery now. Nowadays, the fall seasons are just as important as the spring/summer in the next couple of years for him if he's going to play in college.

Best of luck. Let us know how the surgery goes and then the rehab.

IMO You both made a good decision.
Sometimes in life the RIGHT decisions are the hardest to make! Stay upbeat with the rehab and keep us posted.3up

i don't think he could have labrum surgery now and play in summer. rehab takes longer. i've seen too many who try to come back early. big mistake.

The input we've received from you all has been very helpful and believe me, our expectations (mine and my son's) have been set in large part by the input we've received on this message board. The goal is to be ready for fall ball/junior year. Fortunately my son is very task oriented so I have no doubt he will follow the rehab process religiously. Thank you all again for your thoughts and wishes.

Terk,
Best of luck to your son through this process and for a great recovery.
Now that the initial decision has been made, I hope you won't mind one additional suggestion: Your son needs to realize it is his shoulder and he needs to be informed and inform those caring for him.
When he gets to the PT/rehab, he needs to be vocal on how he is doing and he needs to make sure he is heard and understood.
Rehab/PT and throwing rehab, especially if your son does not have the same therapist every day, may not be cohesive. If he is having discomfort, he needs to tell people and make sure they understand and address the issues, if any might arise.
Again, good luck and all the best for your son.