Shoulder Arthroscopy: Subacromial Decompression

You will receive your prescription for pain medication before you leave the surgery center.   Please take the medication(s) as directed.  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.

Use ice or a cold therapy unit constantly for the first 48 hours, then as frequently as needed.

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 within 1 week after 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. Most patients go to physical therapy 2-3x/week for about 4-6 weeks.

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.

You may drive once you have stopped the narcotic pain medication and can comfortably move your shoulder. You should not wear a sling while driving.

Because your surgery did not require a “repair,” the sling is only for comfort. It may be removed whenever you are comfortable. Most patients wear the sling for 3 days. It does not need to be worn while sleeping. .

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. If you have a labor-intense job, or job that requires heavy lifting/repetitive use of your shoulder, you may need to be off work for at least 1 month. We can give you work restriction notes at each post operative visit if necessary.

Download All Shoulder Subacromial Decompression Post-Op Instructions Here