Shoulder arthroscopy is a type of surgery used to diagnose and treat shoulder problems. Your healthcare provider repairs your shoulder through tiny incisions. Shoulder arthroscopy is an outpatient procedure, meaning you can go home the same day. Though full recovery can take weeks or months, exercise and physical therapy can help with healing.
What is shoulder arthroscopy?
Shoulder arthroscopy is a minimally invasive surgery used to diagnose and treat shoulder problems. You might have arthroscopy for rotator cuff tears or shoulder impingement. Minimally invasive procedures require smaller incisions than traditional surgery. Each incision is about the size of a keyhole.
Your surgeon inserts a small camera called an arthroscope through a tiny incision in your skin. This camera projects pictures of your shoulder joint to a video screen. Your provider looks at these images to find the source of your injury. If you need a shoulder repair, the provider uses miniature surgical instruments to restore your shoulder’s mobility.
Why is shoulder arthroscopy done?
Shoulder arthroscopy helps healthcare providers find and treat shoulder pain that has not responded to nonsurgical treatments. Nonsurgical treatments for shoulder pain include physical therapy, medication, injections and rest.
What shoulder injuries does arthroscopic shoulder surgery treat?
Shoulder arthroscopy can remove inflamed tissue. It can also treat injuries such as:
- Biceps tendon injuries.
- Bone spurs.
- Frozen shoulder.
- Labrum tears, injuries to the tissue around your shoulder socket.
- Osteoarthritis.
- Rotator cuff tears.
- Rotator cuff tendinitis.
- Shoulder impingement syndrome.
- Shoulder instability, when your shoulder joint becomes loose or dislocated.
How common is shoulder arthroscopy?
Shoulder arthroscopy is the second most common orthopedic surgery after knee arthroscopy. Orthopedic surgery treats joints, bones, muscles, ligaments and tendons.
Rotator cuff surgery is one of the most common types of shoulder arthroscopy.
