Not much action no this post, so I figured I'd respond/resurrect it.
If you've had shoulder separation issues (past or present) - the first thing you MUST do is strengthen the shoulders. The exercises for this are best found with a trainer (at the gym) or go to youtube for shoulder exercises - they are lengthy to explain, but easy to observe and execute. The shoulders are important for chest movement, so if these are perpetually prone to injury, you won't progress with your chest exercises, and simply risk continual shoulder injury. Briefly, the short list would be lateral deltoid raises, front deltoid raises; this (don't know how to explain it) cross-the-body with your elbow tucked to your ribcage shoulder exercise (yah...just youtube shoulder exercises); some back-rows; there are others, but again, easier to watch, observe, and execute than read about. These will probably be done with a physio band/resistance band.
In addition to the shoulder, work the back (since this overlaps somewhat with the shoulders...plus, maybe you want to add abit of backmass like a GM? Bent-over rows are perhaps the king...simple, low stress, recruit both back and shoulder, and effective. Youtube this. Deadlifts are also good - depending on how you do them (i.e., Romanian or otherwise), you will recruit more-or-less of your back, and less-or-more of your hamstrings/glutes (and no, these won't feminize your bottom, but rather add muscular mass and overall depth to your physique). I'm new to this forum (and will mainly hang in the MTF areas), so I'm not sure what your spinal condition is...these back exercises may/may not be applicable.
In addition to shoulder, however, you will DEFINITELY need to work out your elbow damage, as the distal humerus (the "elbow), is very important in acting as leverage for chest exercises. A critical, limiting factor in many individuals chest-workout goals is poor humerus leverage, be it a combination of elbow tendinitis, exceptionally weak triceps, or other.
Once you've worked at the shoulder strengthening (or really shoulder rehab, since that is what it will be, and this can take MONTHS of hard, daily work), then start integrating more chest-focused exercises. I would lay off the traditional chest exercises initially, as these are high-stress on the shoulders...so NO bench-press (including incline, flat, and decline); no standing horizontal cable flyes; no push-ups; no chest dips. Perhaps you can do some low-high cable flyes, which are more low shoulder impact, because of the way the deltoids/bone structure will be held closer to the center of your body, instead of having the shoulder bones/musculature flaired out to the sides.
The post is abit lengthy - if confused or with more questions, I'd be happy to chime back. As an FYI - I was formerly into bodybuilding but bilateral shoulder impingement stopped all that; my shoulder injuries can only be fixed with surgery. Consider a certified fitness trainer initially (since they can get expensive) - at the very least, they can give you a individualized workout program, with your goals and injuries in mind. Once you have an idea of how to work-out, you can let go of the fitness trainer and work-out alone. Protect the shoulders - the chest will follow.
