First of all, the procedure can be done under either general anesthesia or local anesthesia (with a regional block). You and the surgeon can discuss the best option for you. During the procedure, the surgeon will make one or two small, simple cuts, then inserts a tiny camera into the patient's shoulder. The camera will allow the surgeon to see which parts of the rotator cuff are damaged and how to address them. The procedure itself involves removing any debris around the shoulder joint or reattaching the tendons to the bone (often using stitches and small rivets). There's a special arthroscopic "multi-pass" suture repair technique that we developed here at Southern Sports Medicine Institute. It was our primary surgeon, Dr. Gautsch, who developed this technique, and it has been tested and proved to be stronger than many standard repair methods. This means a patient may have a much quicker and easier recovery!