Successfully performed frozen shoulder periarthritis separation procedure at Cua Dong General Hospital

Patient Hoang Van Tr. (60 years old, Vinh City) has suffered from frozen shoulder for many years. His left arm is constantly in pain, he cannot lift it up, and it is very difficult to move. He has visited many places, but it has not been cured. At the hospital, he was treated with a combination of medication and non-medication, but the pain only eased, and the range of motion of the joint did not improve significantly.

Associate Professor, Dr. Ha Hoang Kiem and a team of doctors from Cua Dong General Hospital performed a separation procedure to treat frozen shoulder periarthritis for patient Tr. Photo: Thanh Cuong

In the case of patient Tr, Associate Professor, Dr. Ha Hoang Kiem - Lecturer of Internal Medicine Department, Hospital 103, Military Medical Academy and the team of doctors at Cua Dong General Hospital applied the separation technique to treat frozen shoulder periarthritis. This is a new technical method in Vietnam researched and successfully defended by the Associate Professor, and has been effectively applied in a number of central hospitals.

This advanced technique helps restore the shoulder joint for patients with a simple procedure. Doctors perform nerve anesthesia on the shoulder, add two anesthesia points to the shoulder joint edge, then use movement and traction techniques to separate the shoulder joint, helping the patient to practice straightening the arm, with full range of motion of the joint. After that, the patient will continue to receive anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving treatment for another 2 weeks, while combining regular exercise according to instructions, to restore good joint movement.

After undergoing the procedure to separate and pull out the shoulder joint, the patient felt a clear change. Patient Hoang Van Tr shared: “Before, my left arm could not be raised to shoulder level, but after the doctors performed the procedure, I could slowly raise my arm up to about 180 degrees without feeling too much difficulty.”

Immediately after doctors performed the separation procedure to treat frozen shoulder periarthritis, the patient was able to raise his arm straight. Photo: Thanh Cuong

According to Associate Professor, Dr. Ha Hoang Kiem, Frozen shoulder is also known as adhesive shoulder. Current medical measures are mainly anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving treatments, but cannot relieve the limited mobility of the joint. Some hospitals have implemented arthroscopic surgery to separate the shoulder joint. This is a high-tech, expensive technique with a long recovery time. The effectiveness also depends on the patient's exercise regimen.

With the technique of debridement and traction for ankylosing spondylitis under supra-scapular nerve anesthesia, most of the disadvantages of other treatment methods have been overcome.

Associate Professor, Dr. Ha Hoang Kiem guides doctors at Cua Dong Hospital to perform the procedure. Photo: Thanh Cuong

“This technique has been performed on 200 patients at Hospital 103, achieving very good results. This is the first time we have performed it at Cua Dong Hospital. The advantage of the technique is that it is extremely simple. If there is ultrasound guidance, it is even better. If not, it is possible to anesthetize the nerves on the shoulder using the method of groping anesthesia. The procedure can be performed in simple technical rooms. The technique only needs to be performed in 5-10 minutes and immediately after the technique, the patient's range of motion returns to normal; the patient can go home the same day and be treated as an outpatient for another 2 weeks. Thus, the biggest advantage of this technique is that it is simple, so it can be implemented at all levels, low cost, and safe for patients" - Associate Professor, Dr. Ha Hoang Kiem said.

Every week, Associate Professor Dr. Ha Hoang Kiem directly visits and examines patients at Cua Dong General Hospital. Photo: Cao Phuong

Associate Professor Dr. Ha Hoang Kiem is one of the leading experts at the central level who has been associated with the Professor Clinic of Cua Dong General Hospital for many years. Every week, the Associate Professor directly visits and examines patients with cardiovascular, neurological - muscular - skeletal - joint, digestive, hepatobiliary - urinary system diseases... and detects serious cases of diseases belonging to specialized fields that are difficult to detect and diagnose at lower levels such as: brain tumors, temporal lobe epilepsy, brain worms...

At the same time, the Associate Professor and the team of experts from the upper-level hospital effectively applied a number of advanced techniques and procedures in the treatment of a number of difficult diseases; improving the effectiveness of treatment for patients at Cua Dong General Hospital.