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How to Take Your Dressings Off

Your dressings cover the small incisions in your shoulder. Here is what happens to them, when they come off, and how to manage the steri-strips underneath.

What your dressings are for

Dressings cover the incisions in your shoulder after surgery. After arthroscopic surgery the arthroscopy incisions are closed in theatre with steri-strips, and a large absorbent dressing is then placed over the shoulder.

What happens before you go home

On the morning after surgery the nurses usually change the dressings before you are discharged. They remove the large absorbent dressing and apply smaller waterproof dressings over the steri-strips. If the steri-strips need changing, the nurse replaces them at that time.

You can shower over the waterproof dressings until they are removed.

When the dressings come off

  1. In most cases the dressings come off 5 to 7 days after the operation.
  2. When the dressings come off, the steri-strips can stay on.
  3. You can shower over the steri-strips until they fall off on their own.

Watch how it is done

The video below demonstrates removing dressings after arthroscopic surgery.

If you have had a shoulder replacement

The dressings used after an anatomic or reverse total shoulder replacement are different, and they come off on a different schedule. See your shoulder replacement dressings for that guide.

Related guides

More patient videos and the recovery guides for each operation are on the rehabilitation page.

These instructions are general guidance for patients of Dr Kenneth Cutbush. Your own instructions may differ depending on your procedure. Always follow the advice given to you by Dr Cutbush and your physiotherapist. If something does not look or feel right, contact the rooms on (07) 3063 5500.