At the end of the course participants leave with teaching manuals, videotapes and plastic models of the prosthesis and bones. The models help patients understand what the surgeon will be doing at the time of the procedure. Most patients require a three-day hospital stay for a total shoulder replacement. They also start an exercise program the same day as the surgery. There's yet another part of Dr. Rockwood's shoulder system a rehabilitation kit that includes all of the necessary materials for rehabilitation of their shoulders.
Patients take the kit home following surgery.
I have found it more convenient for the patients to be able to do their rehabilitation at home. The kit includes a fully illustrated booklet of all the exercises to be performed and a videotape demonstrating how to do them. This way the patients can do the rehab at their leisure, three to four times per day at home, seven days per week they can even do their rehabilitation exercises in their offices or while on vacation. If patients follow the recommended exercise regimen, most of them can begin to hit golf balls around eight weeks following surgery. They're playing real golf after 12 weeks.