While shoulder arthroscopy is considered a very safe surgical procedure, there are possible complications that should be considered before undergoing surgery for treatment of your condition. Patients should be aware of the possible complications, and the likelihood of these complications occurring.
Shoulder surgeries are prone to developing common skin bacterial infections such as Staph and Strep—the most common types of surgical infections. In addition, a less common bacteria called Propionibacterium acnes is often associated with shoulder infections. P. acnes is present on the skin around the shoulder and can be difficult to detect by standard tests for bacterial infection.
There are steps that you can take to help prevent surgical infections. Treatment of infections may require additional surgical procedures and long-term antibiotics, so it is worthwhile for patients to take these steps to help prevent the chances of infection.
Patients who develop a frozen shoulder have excessive scar tissue form in the shoulder joint capsule, the tissue that surrounds the ball-and-socket shoulder joint. Frozen shoulder is generally treated with aggressive therapy and sometimes a cortisone injection. Many cases of frozen shoulder take months or longer to resolve.
Fortunately, chondrolysis is a very rare complication, and surgeons have learned precautions to take to help prevent this potentially serious complication.
