Postoperative deep shoulder infections following rotator cuff repair

Core Tip

Core tip: Rotator cuff repair (RCR) has become one of the most frequently performed orthopaedic procedures during the last two decades. Paralleling the exponential increase in the number of RCRs, uncommon complications such as postoperative deep shoulder infections may be seen more frequently. Patients who are suspected to have a post-RCR infection require a thorough diagnostic evaluation, including clinical signs and symptoms, laboratory workups and cultures. Although appropriate management of this condition with surgical debridement and lavage, and long-term IV antibiotics usually results in eradication of the infection, complications can be disabling and functional outcomes poor. The majority of the patients with deep infections after RCR report unsatisfactory outcomes with permanent functional limitations.