When that injury to the rotator cuff in your shoulder area continues to restrict your range of motion, and continues to cause you pain, after months of non-surgical treatments and therapy, surgery may be the reasonable solution. You do not have to live with the limited arm mobility problems that result from torn tendons, especially if your work or your personal lifestyle involves lifting moderately heavy items or participate in sports.
Once your surgery has been scheduled, you will be given instructions on how to prepare for the surgery, how to care for yourself during your recovery period, which activities will be restricted for what period of time, what physical therapy will be needed, how many follow up office appointments you will need, and when you’ll be able to return to work or resume normal daily activities.
Rotator Cuff Surgeries
The majority of rotator cuff surgeries are done as outpatient procedures, which mean that you will be able to return home the same day. The open type procedure may require a short stay at the hospital for observation. The operations are typically done at a hospital, and you will be given a general anesthesia before the operation so that you will not feel any pain. The purpose of the surgery is to re-attach the tendons to the bone. Small anchors, either metal or dissolvable, are used for the re-attachment. Stitches are used to help the anchors tie the tendon to the bone.
Whether you leave after your operation or remain in the hospital, you will need to have someone available to drive you home as you will be wearing a shoulder sling and not allowed to drive for a period of time to be determined by your surgeon.
Open Surgery
This operation is done for large or complex damage. Your surgeon will make one large incision to have full access the operation area. If you have any bone spurs, they will be removed during the surgery. The deltoid, a large muscle, and other tissue will be moved away from the operation site and put back in place at the end of the surgery. When the surgery is finished, the surgeon will close the area with sutures, and you will be taken to a recovery area or your hospital room. You will be observed while the anesthesia wears off. Open surgery has a longer recovery period than other procedures, but it may be the best option for your repair requirements.
Minimally Invasive Arthroscopy Surgery
This is a less invasive type of operation than the open surgery. Two or more small incisions are made in your shoulder area. Your surgeon inserts an arthroscope in one incision. This is a slender instrument with a light, and a small camera attached that lets your surgeon see inside your shoulder as the operation is performed. Other surgical tools are inserted into a second or third incision and rather than displace large muscles and tissues; these special instruments are maneuvered around muscles and tissues to reach the procedure site. When the repair procedure has been completed, all of the instruments are removed, your incisions are closed with stitches, and you will be taken to a recovery area for observation until the anesthesia wears off. You will then be allowed to go home. This type of surgery has a shorter recovery period than the open type of procedure.
