Rotator Cuff Repair Surgery: Everything You Need to Know

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A rotator cuff repair is a procedure in which torn tendons and/or muscles of the shoulder are surgically fixed. Rotator cuff tears can cause pain and weakness. Sometimes these tears can heal without surgery, but severe rotator cuff damage can be permanent without surgical intervention.

Recovery after a rotator cuff repair operation requires weeks of restricted shoulder movement, followed by months of physical therapy exercises. It takes four to six months after surgery to fully heal and regain improved shoulder movement.

Doctor preforming shoulder surgery
Alvis Upitis / Getty Images

What Is Rotator Cuff Repair?

A rotator cuff repair is a surgical operation used to mend damaged or injured structures of the rotator cuff. The rotator cuff includes the tendons and muscles of the shoulder joint, also called the glenohumeral joint. Sometimes rotator cuff repair also involves other steps, such as removal of bone spurs.

Rotator cuff repair is usually an outpatient procedure that doesn't involve an overnight stay in the hospital.

The surgery can be done as an open procedure or a minimally invasive arthroscopic one. The right surgical approach for you depends on the extent and exact location of your rotator cuff damage and the optimal means of accessibility for your repair.

Rotator cuff repair techniques include:

  • Open surgical rotator cuff repair: An open procedure involves an incision that's three to five inches in length. This approach is used for better shoulder visualization or repair of extensive rotator cuff damage. You may also have a tendon transfer, in which a tendon is taken from your back to replace a torn tendon in your rotator cuff.
  • Arthroscopic rotator cuff repair: An arthroscopic rotator cuff repair is done through a small incision (less than an inch in length). A small surgical device equipped with a camera is inserted to transmit a live image of the inside of the rotator cuff to a monitor. The repair is done with surgical tools attached to the device.
  • Mini-open rotator cuff repair: The mini-open method involves an incision of approximately three inches and an arthroscopic portion of the surgery. During the arthroscopic step, the surgeon removes damaged tissue or bone spurs and prepare the rotator cuff for repair. Once that is done, the torn tendon is repaired.

Contraindications

Chronic illnesses, like cancer, may interfere with post-operative healing. If you have an infection or if you are immunocompromised, you could be at risk of a post-operative infection, which might be a reason to delay your surgery.

While they are not strict contraindications, smoking and diabetes are associated with impaired healing and may impact support for surgery as well.

These issues aside, rotator cuff repair is simply not right for every such injury. Sometimes the tendon or muscles are so badly damaged that repair might not be possible. For example, large rotator cuff tears or multiple rotator cuff tears may be associated with degeneration or fractures of the neighboring cartilage or bone.

These situations generally require shoulder replacement surgery and not just a rotator cuff repair. You might have a complete shoulder replacement, a partial shoulder replacement, or a reverse shoulder replacement.

Potential Risks

Rotator cuff surgery is usually safe and effective. Still, there are some inherent risks of any kind of surgery and anesthesia that apply. Additionally, rotator cuff repair surgery can cause specific post-surgical issues such as:

  • Infection
  • Weakness due to nerve, muscle, or tendon damage during surgery
  • Sensory changes
  • Increased pain
  • Stiffness or decreased mobility
  • Impaired healing

You would likely develop symptoms of pain, weakness, or swelling within a few weeks after surgery if you experience surgical complications.

Purpose of Rotator Cuff Repair

The main reason for this surgery is to improve symptoms caused by a rotator cuff tear, which are typically pain and diminished mobility. A rotator cuff tear can involve one or more muscles or tendons, the tear can be partial or complete.

This type of damage may occur due to repetitive motion or sudden injury. Even with repetitive damage, a rotator cuff tear can slowly worsen or may occur abruptly.

Symptoms of rotator cuff tear include:

  • Shoulder pain at rest
  • Pain when lifting or lowering your arm
  • Decreased range of shoulder motion
  • Weakness of your shoulder
  • A cracking sensation with shoulder movement

Your healthcare provider will do a physical examination to evaluate these symptoms. Your evaluation will include an assessment of your strength, sensation, and areas of tenderness. You may also have diagnostic tests, such as an X-ray or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test.

Your tendons and/or muscles can be partially frayed, frail, or completely ripped. You might also have degeneration of cartilage, bone fractures, or bone spurs.

Treatment often starts with conservative therapy and may include rest, physical therapy, and oral or injected anti-inflammatory medication.

Small tears in your rotator cuff can heal. If your symptoms don't improve with non-surgical management or if your injury is so severe that it isn't likely to heal without an operation, your healthcare provider will discuss the surgical options with you.

How to Prepare

Prior to your surgery, your surgeon will obtain imaging tests to plan your procedure. This can include different views of your joint. You will also have preoperative tests to prepare for anesthesia, including an electrocardiogram (EKG), chest X-ray, complete blood count (CBC), and blood chemistry panel.

You and your healthcare provider will discuss the recovery process, the type of surgery that is best for you, and the location and size of your incision.

Location

Your surgery will be done in an operating room that can be located in a hospital or a surgical center. A rotator cuff repair is an outpatient procedure, so you will come to your appointment from home and go home on the same day.

What to Wear

You can wear anything comfortable to your surgery appointment. You will need to change into a hospital gown for your procedure.

Since you will have your shoulder wrapped and in a sling after surgery, you should bring loose clothes that you can slip over your surgical dressing to wear on your way home.

Food and Drink

You should abstain from eating and drinking after midnight the night before your scheduled surgery.

Medications

Your healthcare provider might ask you to stop or adjust some of your regular prescriptions for several days prior to your surgery if you take blood thinners or anti-inflammatory medications.

What to Bring

When you go to your surgery appointment, you need to bring your identification, insurance information, and a form of payment if you are expected to pay for a portion of the cost of your surgery.

You won't be able to drive yourself home, so you will need to have someone with you who can drive you home.

Pre-Op Lifestyle Changes

Your healthcare provider may instruct you to rest your arm for several weeks before your surgery, especially if your injury has been caused by repetitive movements like lifting.

What to Expect on the Day of Surgery

When you go to your surgical appointment, you will need to sign in and fill out a consent form. You might have same-day pre-operative tests, including a CBC, blood chemistry, urine test, and a chest X-ray—even if you've had these tests before.

Your healthcare provider may examine your shoulder and your movement on the day of surgery to determine whether you have had any changes since your most recent physical examination.

Before the Surgery

You will go to a pre-surgical area, where you will change out of your clothes. You will have your temperature, pulse, blood pressure, respiratory rate, and oxygen level checked.

You will then be taken to the operating room to have your surgery, where a nurse will place an intravenous (IV, in a vein) line in your hand or arm for the administration of your anesthesia medication.

Your surgical team will place a drape over you, exposing the area where your healthcare provider will place your incision. Your skin will be cleansed to reduce the chances of an infection.

Pain will be controlled with general anesthesia, regional nerve block anesthesia, or, more than likely, both.

General anesthesia medication is injected into your IV to make you fall asleep and prevent you from moving or having sensation. If you have general anesthesia, your anesthesiologist will place a tube in your throat so you will have mechanical assistance with your breathing.

Regional anesthesia for rotator cuff repair is generally placed for an interscalene brachial plexus block. You may have the anesthetic medication injected with a needle that is immediately removed, or your anesthesiologist may leave a catheter in place during your surgery for continued injection of pain medication.

During the Surgery

Your surgery will begin after your anesthesia is started and verified to be working.

Your surgeon will make an incision on your shoulder, the size of which is dependent on the technique being used. A small arthroscope will be placed if you are having an arthroscopic procedure.

You may need to have removal of bone spurs or damaged tissue. Your healthcare provider may need to cut connective tissue or muscle in order to reach a torn ligament or muscle of your rotator cuff. Typically, the deltoid muscle is cut during an open or mini-open rotator cuff repair, but muscle does not need to be cut for an arthroscopic rotator cuff repair.

The damaged area will be repaired with sutures or a torn ligament may be attached to the corresponding bone with metal surgical anchors or anchors that will dissolve over time.

If you are having a tendon transfer, a tendon will be taken from another area of your body, typically from the latissimus dorsi in your back, and surgically positioned in place of your torn rotator cuff tendon.

After repair of your torn structures, your surgeon will mend any tissue that was cut for surgical access. Your skin will be closed with sutures, and bandages will be placed on the surgical wound.

When your surgery is complete, your anesthesia will be stopped or reversed, and your breathing tube will be removed. Your anesthesia team will ensure that you are stable and breathing comfortably on your own before you are taken to a postoperative recovery area.

You may have your arm placed in a sling in the operating room or when you get to the postoperative recovery area.

After the Surgery

As you are waking up after surgery, your medical team will continue to monitor your breathing, pulse, blood pressure, and oxygen. You will receive pain treatment as needed.

You will be given instructions regarding wound care, activity, pain control, and when and how to restart any medications that you were asked to adjust prior to your surgery.

Your healthcare provider will likely examine you to ensure that things are going as planned. If you are not having any complications, you should be discharged to go home a few hours after your surgery.

Recovery

It will take four to six weeks for your wound to heal after rotator cuff surgery, and four to six months for full recovery. You will need to use your arm sling for several weeks; your healthcare provider will let you know when to stop.

Generally, the more extensive and open your surgery, the longer it will take you to heal and recover. Shorter recovery time is associated with arthroscopic rotator cuff repair.

Throughout your healing and recovery period, you will see your healthcare provider for follow-up appointments. They will examine your shoulder, assess your range of motion, and remove your sutures.

1:36

Click Play to Learn About the Shoulder Surgery Rehab Timeline

This video has been medically reviewed by Oluseun Olufade, MD.

Healing

As you are healing, you may need to take pain medication. Be sure to call your healthcare provider if you are experiencing severe or worsening pain.

Warning signs of complications include:

  • Fever
  • Severe pain
  • Worsening pain
  • Bleeding or pus oozing from the wound or dressing
  • Redness around your shoulder
  • Tenderness
  • Swelling
  • Inability to advance your shoulder movements as directed

Call your healthcare provider's office if you experience any of these issues.

Throughout the healing process, you need to be sure to keep your dressing and your wound clean and dry. Care for it according to the instructions that you were given upon discharge.

Activity

You might be instructed to limit movements of your surgical shoulder for the first week if you've had an arthroscopic procedure, and possibly for several weeks after an open procedure. This can affect your ability to do things like drive, self-care, and work.

You will be instructed to increase your level of activity gradually so you can optimize your shoulder strength and motion. Be sure to follow your medical team's guidance as to what activities you can do, when—and what signs should prompt you to stop.

Supervised rehabilitation and physical therapy will be necessary. At your sessions, you will participate in active and passive movements to strengthen your shoulder and to prevent it from getting stiff.

Lifestyle Adjustments

After you have fully healed, you should be able to move your arm with an improved range of motion and without pain. It is important that you stay active to avoid stiffness of your arm.

That said, you must discontinue any activity or repetitive movements that could cause another injury. While it is important to keep moving, you need to make sure that you avoid future damage.

Talk to your healthcare provider and physical therapist about modifications you may need to take at work or in sports to prevent further injuries.

Possible Future Surgeries

Typically, a rotator cuff repair surgery is a one-time procedure without a plan for follow-up procedures or additional surgical steps.

However, if your rotator cuff tear was caused by a medical condition like bone spurs or arthritis, you can experience another injury or further damage if the condition isn't properly treated.

A recurrent tear can develop years after a repair. Generally, more extensive presurgical damage is more likely to result in a repeat injury after a rotator cuff repair than less severe presurgical damage.

A Word From Verywell

A rotator cuff repair surgery can improve your quality of life if you have pain or limited range of motion due to a rotator cuff tear. There are several surgical methods used for this type of repair, and the right one for you depends on the extent and location of your injury.

If you decide to go ahead with a rotator cuff repair surgery, you will have a rehabilitation period with limitations of your arm movement, followed by gradually increasing arm movement and physical therapy before you reach full recovery. It's important to go into this surgery with a full understanding of what healing involves.

7 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
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By Jonathan Cluett, MD
Jonathan Cluett, MD, is board-certified in orthopedic surgery. He served as assistant team physician to Chivas USA (Major League Soccer) and the United States men's and women's national soccer teams.