Neck and Shoulder

I had rotator cuff 3 months ago. The doctor said it was only a 10-15% tear So he just went in and cleaned it out. It still hurts, much more now then before the surgery. I just had an MRI with contrast. It showed fluid and METAL SHAVINGS??? The doctor told me metal shavings are no big deal, it happens?
Just gave me more pain pills. Never said anything about fixing the shavings. I am no doctor but I know this is not normal and something needs to be done, they will not just go away? The surgeon did something wrong and/or the instrument used to clean it up was defective. Can you please give me some advice? I just want to feel better. I had neck surgery back in December, fused 2 disks and put a plate and 4 screws in. After going to rehab for a week or so the rehab person said my rotator cuff was the problem causing pain down my neck and my whole shoulder whole time not my neck!
Then I had the Rotator Cuff surgery and that is where I am now. Any advice would be great because I don't feel I can trust the doctor now and fell he is covering up a mistake.
Thank you so much and pray I hear from you soon.

[Stephen Ryu, MD]

I am not an orthopedic surgeon so cannot comment as to what was doing during your operation. However, it is possible to have very small metal shavings come off an instrument or implant during spine surgery. It is not common, and results from a drill or some instrument rubbing on another piece of metal - kindof like fine sawdust. Typically, the area of surgery is irrigated to get as much of this out, but it isn't possible always. But even a sand-sized piece of metal can look like a HUGE MRI artifact. So besides making the MRI hard to read, in the spine, these shavings are harmless - they are really too small to cause a problem. Now, the shoulder is a joint so maybe metal is bad there - I am not an expert there. Also, rotator cuff and neck problems overlap a lot - so it is sometimes hard to know for sure what is causing what. I'd ask this question in the Ortho forum.