I separated my right shoulder when I struck a deer going a bit over 30 mph last
August. I had ER x-ray it the night it happened to make sure nothing was broken and they told me I had sprained it.
But what really happened it that the three ligaments that connect the scapula to the collarbone were basically severed (and the knobby part of my shoulder is now permanently raised up). I consulted with the ortho doctor at PAMF and he said it was a grade three separation (the same level as Alex Smith suffered several years ago) and his advice given that I didn't throw a ball for a living and was 54 years old was to live with it.
He explained that there really wasn't any special urgency for having surgery done right away if I did chose to go that route (such surgery involves attaching ligaments taken from cadavers). The disadvantage of surgery would be that my arm would be immobilized for up to two months and then there would be rehab and no real guarantees about how well it would all work.
There is an ascetic consideration I suppose, I did spent a fair amount of time hanging out at beaches and pools when I was a young man--but those days are long, long past and now I really don't care much about the slight deformity.
As far as function goes after 10 months, what I notice is that pulling motions seem unaffected--something that is a great relief to me as I enjoy spending a fair amount of time in the climbing gym, but pushing or striking actions are more difficult (such as push-ups or trying to play handball). Overall the whole shoulder girdle seems less stable and a bit creaky at time, but it's really not that big of an issue for the most part.