Home from the Hospital
Shoulder Pain after surgery??
Yep, pretty common.
I have no ‘first-hand’ experience with that one,
But I see a lot of folks who had their procedure
Done Laproscopically complain about it.
...sometimes the shoulder pain following a laparoscopy
Can be even more painful than the incision sites!
But if work was done in the abdomen, why the shoulder pain?
During laparoscopy, C02 (carbon dioxide) gas
Is injected through a special needle inserted just below the navel.
This is done to expand the abdomen and allow your surgeon
A view of your organs.
After the laparoscopy, most have shoulder pain,
Sometimes barely, sometimes severe.
It’s attributed to the C02 gas being trapped as it exits the body.
It's not really in the "Shoulder Area," but it effects that area.
What is REALLY Interesting- is that the diaphragm / abdominal area,
And the shoulder also share some of the same nerves;
chiefly, the Phrenic Nerve.
The Phrenic Nerve runs up on each side of the neck,
From the 3rd, 4th and 5th cervical spine roots.
It Runs down between the lungs and the heart to reach the diaphragm.
Abdomen and Shoulders? Yep.
Signals from this nerve coordinate the muscular movements of the
Chest cavity and the diaphragm so that your breathing "synchs-up."
When the C02 gas irritates the diaphragmatic nerves,
That pain is transmitted through that nerve,
all the way to, - and passing the irritation-
To the shoulder.
Yes?
Also, as the CO2 is removed at the end of the surgery
Some small ‘bubbles’ or pockets, remain to be re-absorbed by the body.
They are able to move between thin layers of the peritoneal tissue,
Even traveling up (as ‘bubbles’ want to do )
between thin layers of connective tissues.
Apparently, early Laproscopic procedures caused even more post-op pain
More recently the advancement of heating and humidifying the C02
Has reduced this post-op pain, but not yet eliminated it.
From posts I’ve read in the past,
It seems to go away around the end of the second week.
Most people also seem to notice the pains around the time
They start back off their pain meds.
Probably when you breathe in deep,
You are raising the internal pressure in your body,
Certainly using your Diaphragm and upper Thoracic muscles
and further stimulating the Phrenic Nerve
At the same time that a little bubble or pocket of leftover CO2
Would then be "mashing" against, or between the layers of tissues.
Sorry to babble on, but it’s very interesting to me
How all of the inner workings connect.
I’m a Discovery Channel Nerd, What can I say. 
Hope you’re feeling better soon.
Walking helps everything improve quicker.
Best Wishes-
Dx
Capricious; Impulsive, Semi-Predictable 
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