Surgery Before MEB

jayski214

New Member
Registered Member
Hello,
I'm new here and trying to gather information from the community before I try to proceed further with an MEB. So, I'm at 23 years of active service in the Army and here is my situation:

29 May 2020 - surgery to repair the labrum in my right hip
31 July 2020 (upcoming) - Surgery to repair the labrum in my left shoulder

I am facing a potential MEB for PTSD and back injury but nothing has been initiated yet. My providers have been pushing that I will qualify for an MEB with the severity of my PTSD and back injury but I wanted to take care of the above surgeries before heading down that road. My biggest concern is if either of the above surgeries would hold me up from initiating an MEB if my providers assign a P3 profile for the PTSD and my back? I've researched that it's not likely to have these surgeries approved during the MEB but what about if you have them before? Will I have to wait until I rehabilitate from both surgeries before I would be allowed to move forward with an MEB? Neither of the above surgeries are for issues that would prevent me from continuing service in the Army. I'm just trying to get a snapshot of what I'm looking at before moving forward.

Thank you
Jason
 
Hello,
I'm new here and trying to gather information from the community before I try to proceed further with an MEB. So, I'm at 23 years of active service in the Army and here is my situation:

29 May 2020 - surgery to repair the labrum in my right hip
31 July 2020 (upcoming) - Surgery to repair the labrum in my left shoulder

I am facing a potential MEB for PTSD and back injury but nothing has been initiated yet. My providers have been pushing that I will qualify for an MEB with the severity of my PTSD and back injury but I wanted to take care of the above surgeries before heading down that road. My biggest concern is if either of the above surgeries would hold me up from initiating an MEB if my providers assign a P3 profile for the PTSD and my back? I've researched that it's not likely to have these surgeries approved during the MEB but what about if you have them before? Will I have to wait until I rehabilitate from both surgeries before I would be allowed to move forward with an MEB? Neither of the above surgeries are for issues that would prevent me from continuing service in the Army. I'm just trying to get a snapshot of what I'm looking at before moving forward.

Thank you
Jason

If the surgery is an 'elective' surgery you will most likely not be allowed to get it if an MEB is initiated. If the surgery is qualified as something that will bring back your mobility status/ prevent loss of limb or some other dramatic event then it would be allowed. There are quite a few AR's as well as posts on this site (Getting Surgery during an Army MEB) with some good information. I would probably recommend getting the surgeries before the MEB starts, if not I don't think it is as easy to get them approved while going through the process. I hope I helped a little.
 
If the surgery is an 'elective' surgery you will most likely not be allowed to get it if an MEB is initiated. If the surgery is qualified as something that will bring back your mobility status/ prevent loss of limb or some other dramatic event then it would be allowed. There are quite a few AR's as well as posts on this site (Getting Surgery during an Army MEB) with some good information. I would probably recommend getting the surgeries before the MEB starts, if not I don't think it is as easy to get them approved while going through the process. I hope I helped a little.
Thanks for the information, this helps me put it in perspective from a better angle. My biggest question is if I have the surgeries before an MEB is initiated on different issues is there a certain about of waiting time? I'm curious if I have the surgeries, will I be told that I have to fully rehabilitate before proceeding forward with an MEB?
 
Thanks for the information, this helps me put it in perspective from a better angle. My biggest question is if I have the surgeries before an MEB is initiated on different issues is there a certain about of waiting time? I'm curious if I have the surgeries, will I be told that I have to fully rehabilitate before proceeding forward with an MEB?

Here is a little piece of info I found:
IAW MEDCOM Policy 11-046, Appendix D(a), new surgical or medical treatment requiring more than 45 days of recovery may require your MEB to be terminated.

Maybe someone with more personal experience can chime in, but from what I heard if you have a surgery during or before an MEB the MEB will probably be paused or cancelled until you are well enough to go through the process. Also so they can evaluate the condition, if it is board able/ something you are claiming.

Side note: I had surgery a year ago and my board was initiated (a code on my profile) but the board never happened because I ended up recovering, I was found unfit for other reasons after that.
 
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