RALEIGH, N.C. — Gov. Mike Easley was back at work Wednesday after undergoing surgery to repair his shoulder and rotator cuff, his surgeon said.

Dr. Bill Garrett, who removed bone spurs from Easley's left shoulder during surgery at UNC Hospitals, also discovered that the governor's rotator cuff was 90 percent torn, so he repaired that injury as well.

The bone spurs were caused by extensive use of the shoulder during physical activity over several years, Garrett said at a news conference.

The surgery went well, and Easley is in good spirits, said Garrett, chair of the Department of Orthopaedics at UNC Medical School. The governor returned to Raleigh and began doing some work, he said.

Easley will wear a sling for the next three to four weeks and will have to forego strenuous activity until the summer, the doctor said.

The surgery was expected to last about two hours, during which time the governor was to be awake with the affected area numbed with an anesthetic.