Rotator Cuff Repair

Arthroscopic Rotator Cuff Repair

Description:

The rotator cuff is repaired through 4 small incisions, which are usually not sutured.

A sling is applied with a bodybelt. The sling must be worn for 6 weeks – 3 weeks under clothes wit the bodybelt, then start weaning off sling over 3 weeks, with the bodybelt removed. They may return to light activities and driving 6 weeks post-op and contact sports 3 months post-op.

Complications:

Failure of repair: The clinical success rate of a rotator cuff repair is >95%. Even though some tears do rerupture this does not correlate with a poor result. The risk of rerupture is higher with increasing patient age, steroid useage, rheumatoid arthritis, muscle atrophy and fatty degeneration of the cuff muscles and poor quality cuff tissue.  

Complications <1%:

• Stiffness
• Infection
• Bleeding
• Recurrence
• Complications related to the Interscalene Block

Alternative Treatments:

Physiotherapy and injections – however most patients will have failed non-operative management before coming to surgery.