What does surgery for a rotator cuff injury entail?

Fix tendonto bone: Rotator cuff tears are not all the same. Partial tears are either left alone, lightly debrided or repaired. Full thickness tears often require repair of the torn tendon back to the shoulder bone (humerus, greater tuberosity). Surgery is either by open or arthroscopic technique using bone anchors and sutures to reattach the tendon to the bone. Rehabilitation is slow and deliberate for ~ 3 month.

Attach cuff to bone.: A rotator cuff tear occurs when the tendon is torn off the bone. For the tendon to heal, it must be reattached to the bone. This is done arthroscopically with suture anchors. The anchors have sutures inside and are placed into the bone. The sutures are placed within the torn rotator cuff and tied down to the bone. The cuff is protected for 6 wks before therapy begins, 3-6 months for recovery.

Reattach the tendon.: In surgery, the rotator cuff tendon is identified then anchored back down to the arm bone, where it tore from. It's an outpatient procedure that usually takes less than 2 hours.