Rotator cuff surgery occurs when the rotator cuff tendons in a person’s shoulder have completely torn away from the upper arm bone, known as the humerus. Your rotator cuff tendons connect the humerus to the clavicle and shoulder muscles. As such, rotator cuff surgery involves stitching or reattaching the rotator cuff tendons back to the upper end of the humerus. With rotator cuff tears, surgery is usually only pursued when less invasive treatment methods fail to bring about healing and pain relief. As such, partial tears to the rotator cuff are often treated with debridement, physical therapy, corticosteroid injections, or other treatment methods. If surgery is pursued to treat a rotator cuff tear or injury, there are several different types of surgery that could be performed, including arthroscopic tendon repair, open tendon repair, or a tendon transfer if the injured tendon is too damaged to reattach to the bone.