Shoulder Arthroscopy: Rotator Cuff Repair

Your prescription for pain medication will be called into the pharmacy of your choice before you leave the surgery center. After the first day or two, as the pain lessens, you may decrease the frequency with which you take the medication. Remember, the medications are not necessarily meant to completely eliminate your pain, only to make it more bearable.

Narcotic pain medications can cause constipation; you may wish to use an over-the-counter stool softener to help prevent this.

If you are having minimal pain and would like to switch to a milder medication, please take Tylenol/acetaminophen (extra strength or regular).  Do not take Tylenol and Norco together (this would be too much acetaminophen).  Do not exceed more than 4000mg of Tylenol/acetaminophen in a 24 hour period.  Try to avoid medications such as Advil, Aleve, Motrin, or Ibuprofen for about 3 months after surgery- some studies show that these medications could slow healing of your surgical repair.

Use ice or a cold therapy unit as much as possible for the first 48 hrs, then as frequent as needed. For example, 20 minutes of ice/machine to shoulder 5 times daily after the first 48 hrs would be helpful for pain and swelling.

IceMan Cold Therapy – Click here for more information

You will have a soft dressing applied over your incisions. It is meant to absorb any leaking blood or fluid from the joint, and to protect from infection.  Leakage immediately after surgery is normal and actually helps to drain some of the fluid that accumulates in the joint during surgery. The dressings may become moist or blood-stained; this is normal and usually not a cause for alarm.

You may remove your dressing 48 hours after your surgery to take a shower.  For showering, you may remove your entire sling and let your arm rest at your side. Under the surgical dressing, you may have steri-strips over your incisions (small white strips of tape). Please leave them in place until they fall off on their own or until they are removed at your first post-op appointment. You may let soap and water gently wash over your incisions, but do not scrub them. Pat them dry with a towel, then recover each of the incisions with a band-aid if desired.  You may not soak your shoulder in a bathtub or go into a pool or hot tub until incisions are well healed (usually takes a few weeks).

Therapy typically starts 3-6 weeks after surgery. The timing for when you begin physical therapy will be individualized based on your surgery. If you are going to a facility other than Fox Valley Orthopedics Physical Therapy, please ask your therapist to visit www.healthy-txt.com/drmehta for Dr. Mehta’s protocols.

Please call our office at (630) 584-1400 if you develop a fever greater than 101°F, increasing pain that is not responding to pain medication, redness around incisions or shoulder, increased swelling, persistent bleeding or drainage, or drainage other than clear fluid or blood. If it is after hours, the answering service will contact the physician assistant on call.

It is normal to develop bruising to the operative arm. Some people have bruising across the chest all the way down to the hand. It can also be normal to develop swelling to the arm and hand. Gravity tends to pull fluid down the arm- your body will be able to reabsorb this fluid but it may take a few weeks. If the swelling becomes increasingly painful and more tender to the touch, please let our office know.

You will be receiving a post-operative phone call from the surgical staff within a few days after surgery to check on you and assist you with any concerns.

Please do not attempt driving for about 3-4 weeks after surgery.  This is for your safety, as well as other drivers- please do not attempt to drive with only one hand.  Reasons for no driving post operatively: A quick, reactive motion of the shoulder while driving could damage your surgical repair.  Secondly, you should not drive while taking any narcotic pain medications.

You will need the sling for up to 6 weeks total to protect your repair.

The sling has 2 components: sling and waist portion.
The purpose of the waist portion is to position the shoulder “neutral,” which puts less tension through the repair.

The sling should be worn at all times when you are up and walking around. While you are sitting/resting, you may remove the sling occasionally as long as your upper arm/shoulder stays near your body. You may take off the entire sling up to 3 times daily to gently bend and straighten your elbow while keeping your shoulder near your body.

Depending on your comfort, the waist portion of the sling does not need to be worn while you are laying down to sleep.

PLEASE WATCH THE SLING VIDEO ON THIS PAGE FOR MORE DETAILED INFO- SCROLL DOWN TO VIDEO SECTION

Do not lift shoulder out in front of body, out to your side, or reach behind your back until your physical therapist has progressed you to that point in therapy. Usually, it is 6 weeks before you’ll be moving the shoulder on your own.  It is ok to bend/straighten your elbow and use your hand to do things like typing (as long as your shoulder stays near your body).  For example, you should put a computer keyboard in your lap instead of reaching out on a table for your keyboard). Initially in therapy, your therapist will do “passive motions,” which means your muscles won’t be doing the work.  This protects your surgical repair and allows your body to heal.

Please try to wear the sling while you are sleeping for 6 weeks after surgery- this protects the repair and provides good support to the shoulder.

As a last resort, you may remove the sling to sleep if you are too uncomfortable, but try to keep your shoulder near your body (placing pillows around and behind the shoulder may help).   Some people find it more comfortable to sleep upright (in a recliner chair) for a few days to weeks after surgery- this is optional.

This depends on the nature of your job. If you have a desk job or can work from home, you may be able to do computer/phone work within 1 week of surgery. However, you may not drive yourself to work for 3-4 weeks. If you have a labor job, or job that requires heavy lifting/repetitive use of your shoulder, you may need to be off work for months. You will have restrictions for up to 6 months after your rotator cuff repair. Some employers allow light-duty, and we can give you work restriction notes at each post operative visit if necessary.

Download All Shoulder Rotator Cuff Repair Post-Op Instructions Here