After open shoulder surgery, a waterproof plastic dressing protects the incision for two days. You can shower then, peel back the corner to remove both layers, and apply a new island dressing over the closed wound.
So this is an example of a dressing that you might have after an open shoulder surgery, which would be either a shoulder replacement or reverse replacement, or possibly after fracture care. This is a dressing that is waterproof, and what you'll see is that this plastic part is completely waterproof. You can take a shower 2 days after your surgery. You're going to want to remove this dressing after your shower. By just peeling back the corner of the plastic. Underneath that, you'll see a little netting dressing as well, which will also just gently peel off. This is a non-adhesive dressing that should just peel off. Underneath this, you'll see your incision with absorbable sutures that are deep to the skin, as well as the skin glue over the top. Once you take the dressing off, you can go ahead and put on a new Island Dressing that you'll be supplied with. This dressing will go over these same incision, and we'll cover the same area just to help protect it.
