I have had rotator cuff surgery on both shoulders, first was a medium to large tear and the other a complete tear off. In both cases the anesthesiologist placed a nerve block in my neck before I was taken to surgery and administered general anesthesia. The pain after surgery was well controlled by the meds the surgeon prescribed, in the case of the complete tear off I had a cold water pump that I wore on the shoulder for the first week or so. With the complete tear off PT for the first 8 weeks was passive, I let the therapist stretch my shoulder after that I started gradually exercising to rebuild strength and regain range of motion. The only lasting effect from the repairs is that I cannot work with my arms overhead for more that 15 minutes or so and my range of motion is slightly less than before.
