Shoulder Arthroscopy: Rotator Cuff Repair

Your prescription for pain medication will be given to you 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.  

MEDICATION REFILL POLICY: Refills on prescription medications are processed Monday through Friday 8:30am-5pm. New prescriptions or refills cannot be issued after hours, on weekends or holidays.

Please request refill through the patient portal on www.fvortho.com. If you are not currently registered on our portal, please stop at the front desk for assistance or contact the portal help desk at 630-524-0140

After requesting the refill, please allow 24-48 hours for your request to be processed. It may be wise to contact your pharmacy to ensure that the prescription is ready.

Use ice or a cold therapy unit as much as possible for the first 48 hours, then as frequently as needed.  For example, 20 minutes of ice to shoulder 5 times daily after the first 48 hours would be a good amount.

Iceman Cold Therapy Unit- click to learn more

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.

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.

A stim machine may be ordered for you to be used post-operatively.  If so, the stim pads will be placed under your dressing.  The purpose of the machine is to help gently stimulate the muscles to bring blood flow to the shoulder to help with healing and help relieve post-operative pain.  You will be instructed on proper use and operation of the machine.

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 6 weeks after surgery. The timing for when you begin physical therapy will be individualized based on your surgery.

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.

DVT information sheet

Please click on this document to learn more about deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and prevention

Your first post-op visit will be scheduled 7-10 days after surgery. At this visit, we’ll check your incisions and answer any questions you may have.

Please do not attempt driving for about 6 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.

The “arc” sling has 2 components: Hinged waist strap and sling.  The 2 components 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 shoulder stays near your body.  

The purpose of the waist strap (with the small bar that extends) is to hold the shoulder in a slightly “abducted” position, which allows for less tension on the rotator cuff during the healing process.
A few times daily you may remove the sling and gently bend and straighten your elbow, keeping your shoulder near the body.  Typically the sling will be worn for 6 weeks.  However, the use of the sling may be individualized based on your surgery.  

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 4-6 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.

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. 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.

DR. PETSCHE ROTATOR CUFF REPAIR