Question:
The VA orthopedic surgeon suggested that I have surgery on my right shoulder for impinging tendinitis and torn rotator cuff. I am rated at 20%. I understand that if I have surgery I get a temporary rating of 100% afterwards, but will they try to reduce my 20% after that?
Jim's Reply:
In theory...you are rated at 20% because your service connected injury reduces your gainful work capacity by about that amount. If you have a surgical procedure to correct the disabling injury and it works like it should, you are then no longer disabled to the degree of your previous rating. The rules and regulations require that you be accurately rated at the time of your exam and during adjudication of the claim.
But no...of course it doesn't always work that way. Sometimes after recuperation the injury seems worse or your range of motion is even more limited for a while. Some vets walk away with a higher rating than before.
It's my experience that since your 20% rating is on the low end of the scale, you're not all that likely to lose it. Even after corrective surgery you're likely to have enough of a ROM deficit to remain eligible for 20% and that won't be subject to future exams. If your corrective surgery is successful to a point where you return to totally normal function with no pain, a lowering to 0% service connected could happen easily enough. A 0% SC rating tells us that VA recognizes there is a potentially disabling service connected condition that doesn't currently rise to the symptomatic disabling level of a 10% rating.
For what it's worth, I have the same diagnosis in both shoulders since 1971. I was diagnosed with bilateral tendonitis until the development of MRI when the full thickness rotator cuff tears were clearly visible. I've had maybe a dozen offers over the years to repair or replace both shoulders and I've declined all.
I have my own reasons for that and I don't suggest that you ignore your doctor's advice. The reality of my decision had nothing to do with my fear of losing a rating, I just haven't ever been convinced of shoulder surgery outcomes as being long term successes when compared to the risks involved. I'm really big on doing risk/reward analysis on important decisions and in my own case, I couldn't achieve the balance I felt I needed.
I rode big motorcycles to every one of the lower 48 states over the years and I took a lot of ibuprofen because my shoulders hurt.
My shoulders hurt a lot (a lot!) back then but today they're unscarred. I still take a lot of ibuprofen, motorcycles not so much.
Good luck.