Most surgery done today to treat these conditions is effectively performed employing "arthroscopic" methods. This means the surgery is performed by inserting a "scope" into the shoulder through a small puncture wound, visualizing the procedure with a special camera that puts the image on a "television" monitor and performing the repair work with small instruments inserted through one or more small additional puncture wounds. These techniques are commonly employed in the shoulder and the knee.

The surgery is almost always done in an out-patient setting. You come to the hospital or same-day surgery facility, are taken to the operating room, given an anesthetic (general or regional anesthesia or a combination of both) and then positioned on the operating table. Small puncture wounds are employed to insert the scope, fill the joint with fluid an examine all the important structures. Once the diagnosis is confirmed by direct visualization, the repair procedure is performed.