FACT SHEET FOR PATIENTS AND FAMILIES

Shoulder Arthroscopy: Preparing for Surgery

What is shoulder arthroscopy? Shoulder arthroscopy is a surgery to examine or Shoulder joint repair tissues in and around your shoulder joint. Arthroscope Your surgeon will make a small incision (cut) in your shoulder and insert a pencil-thin camera, called an arthroscope. This allows the surgeon to take a closer With an arthroscope look at the condition of your shoulder. If the joint the surgeon can get needs to be repaired, the doctor will insert surgical a close look at the condition of your instruments through other small incisions. shoulder joint. Other tools are used Shoulder arthroscopy uses smaller incisions than to make repairs. open surgery, so it usually involves a faster recovery and fewer complications. However, not all shoulder problems can be repaired with arthroscopy. Your What happens before surgery? surgeon will recommend the best method for repairing your shoulder. When you arrive at the hospital the morning of your surgery, this is what you can expect: Why do I need it? •• Preparation. You will change into a hospital gown. Shoulder arthroscopy can be used to diagnose and A healthcare provider will mark the shoulder to be treat a number of problems such as: operated on. •• Rotator cuff problems: A tendon may be torn or •• Anesthesia. You will be given one or more of these may have pulled away from the arm bone. types of anesthesia: •• Shoulder instability: The shoulder joint may –– Regional anesthesia, so you don’t feel anything be loose, and the arm bone may slip out of the near your shoulder. shoulder socket (become dislocated). –– General anesthesia that puts you to sleep and •• Shoulder impingement: Bone growths (spurs) or prevents feeling in your whole body. inflamed tissues may be interfering with shoulder movement. •• Your family and friends will wait for you in a waiting area until after you recover from anesthesia. Your doctor will perform tests, such as an x-ray or MRI, to understand what problems might exist. What happens during surgery? How do I prepare for surgery? The surgery usually lasts about 1 hour and involves: •• Prepare your household so you can do activities •• Evaluation. The surgeon will make a small (about of daily living with the arm and hand on the non- 1/2-inch) incision in your shoulder and insert an surgery side. arthroscope to project enlarged images of your shoulder joint onto a screen. The area may also be •• DO NOT eat or drink anything after midnight the inflated with a harmless fluid to make parts of your night before surgery. shoulder easier to see and work on. •• Bring a large shirt that buttons up the front to wear home so you won’t have to pull a shirt over your head. 1 •• Procedures. To make repairs on your shoulder, the The rotator cuff is Surgery for instability surgeon will make 2 or 3 more small incisions. a group of muscles repairs tissues on the rim Repairs may include: and tendons of the shoulder joint that attach your Rotator cuff repair –– : Repairs tears in the tendons upper arm to your and shaves down extra bone growth shoulder blade –– Surgery for shoulder instability: Repairs the rim of the shoulder joint and attached tissues Surgery for shoulder impingement –– : Cleans out Surgery for damaged or inflamed tissue and may involve impingement shaving down areas of bone growth removes spurs or tissues that •• Closing the incision. Your incisions will be closed interfere with with sutures (stitches) or staples and covered with movement a dressing (bandage). Your surgeon will remove the sutures or staples when your incisions have healed. What should I discuss with my doctor? What happens after? To decide whether to have shoulder arthroscopy, Most people go home the day of surgery. You will be talk to your doctor. Discuss the surgery’s potential able to go home as soon as your surgeon feels it is safe benefits, its risks, and your treatment alternatives. The for you. Here’s what to expect: table below lists the most common of these, but ask •• Monitoring your recovery. After your surgery you your doctor about other benefits and risks that may will be taken to a recovery area and monitored until apply to your situation. your anesthesia wears off. Your family and friends may visit after you are awake. Potential Risks and potential benefits complications •• Pain management. You will be given medicine to control your pain. You may also be given a In comparison Complications are not cold pack and a small device you wear home, to open surgery, common, but these are risks called a local anesthesia infusion device (LAID). arthroscopy involved in any surgery: results in: For instructions on using an LAID, ask for •• Allergic reactions to • Less pain and medicines LAID: Home Instructions • Intermountain's fact sheet, . stiffness Be sure to tell your healthcare providers if these •• Breathing problems •• Fewer •• Bleeding, infection, or treatments do not help you control your pain. complications blood clot •• Sling. You may be instructed to keep your arm in a •• Shorter Risks of shoulder sling for a week or longer. Your healthcare providers hospital stays arthroscopy include: •• Faster •• Shoulder stiffness will show you how to use it. recovery •• Continued pain •• Recovery. Recovery from shoulder surgery can •• Weakness in the shoulder take 1 to 6 months. For information on your recovery and on what to do at home, ask for the Alternatives Intermountain fact sheet Shoulder Arthroscopy: Recovering at Home. Your doctor may also recommend: •• Non-surgical methods, including physical therapy or change in activity level •• Open surgery that completely exposes the shoulder joint

© 2011 – 2016 Intermountain Healthcare. All rights reserved. The content presented here is for your information only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, and it should not be used to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease. Please consult your healthcare provider if you have any questions or concerns. More health information 2 is available at intermountainhealthcare.org. Patient and Provider Publications FS091 - 10/16 (Last reviewed - 10/16) Also available in Spanish.