My 80 year old grandfather's bicep muscle pulled away from the bone,
and he's in pain off and on that's quite acute at times.  He has no
idea how it happened.  Three different doctors said they don't want to
operate on it because they say the muscle won't "stay" where it's
supposed to.

With all the technology and near sci-fi things they're doing today, I
wondered if there was something legitimate that could be done about
this, other than his taking constant pain medication.

Any comments or a direct answer would be greatly appreciated.

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Request for Question Clarification by pinkfreud-ga on 20 Jun 2003 15:26 PDT

The answers to a few questions would be very helpful.

1. Other than the problem you describe, is your grandfather in good health?

2. Can you give a more precise description of the injury?

3. Has an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in geriatric medicine been consulted?

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Clarification of Question by 8675309-ga on 20 Jun 2003 19:48 PDT

Hello Pinkfreud -

Thanks for your questions.

1. Yes, he's in good health.

2. That's the way it was described to him.  He unfortunately has no
more information.

3. 1 is a regular surgeon; 1 was a neurosurgeon; 1 was regular doctor.
None of them specialized in geriatric medicine.

If it is possible, I strongly recommend that your grandfather obtain a
referral to an orthopedic surgeon, preferably one who is familiar with
the care of the elderly. Without a more specific description of the
injury, it's difficult to say more. In any case, Google Answers is not
a source of authoritative medical advice; while we may be able to
gather information that can be useful in understanding a medical
condition, we cannot diagnose nor treat your grandfather.

I do hope, in any case, that his pain is being treated adequately.
Whether or not surgery is an option, pain control is essential. There
are specialists in pain management who can be very helpful in
assisting patients to cope with chronic pain situations. Your
grandfather's primary physician can make arrangements if this kind of
consultation would be helpful.

Pinkfreud -

Thanks. Yes, his pain is being treated... I'm hoping that there is
some sort of additional method of getting things back to normal that
perhaps his doctors are unaware of.