I know you said this is for you husband so I wrote it more to him than to you only for the ease of writing it.
I had my right shoulder done in 2010. I was scheduled to have a different surgery on the shoulder (SAD) to shave some bone and remove the bursa sac. MRI showed the RTC was intact. 30 minute surgery and a week in a sling. A month prior to the surgery I feel and caused a 90% tear of the same shoulder. That turned the surgery to 3.5 hours and 6 weeks in a sling. PT (not to mention sleeping if you can't sleep on your back) can be difficult and painful. Both are also crucial to a full recovery which takes (providing you are over 40 and not a WC athlete) about 18 months.
Often the claim is 9 months but that is to get you back within normal limits. I took me 18 months to not feel pain when I did certain things. I had other issues than just the RC to deal with as a previous injury that I never addressed and babied for over a decade and is what caused all the degeneration and the need for the SAD surgery to start with. Maybe the right answer is to split the difference and say a year. What they tell you the rehab is for duration is usually how long the insurance says it should take. Well after the PT ends you find yourself still doing it on your own because the ROM will be within normal limits but not the same as the other side and not as strong as the other side. You'll notice the difference and if you stick with it on your own, you can get it right. I also had the challenge of not getting it back to how it was prior to surgery, but getting it to how it should have been anyway.
I would point out that though I tore the RC a month prior to surgery, and it made things worse, I was still skiing and setting gates. The staff agreed I shouldn't carry a gate bag so the HS kids did that. I couldn't pole plant on that side either. I did ski more conservatively and probably shouldn't have been skiing at all, but I'm an idiot and addicted to this sport and have had already been dealing with the pain in my shoulder for longer than a decade so though it hurt more, it was something I was used to. I couldn't hold a coffee cup in my right hand without it shaking. When it came to strength moves, was using my left arm. Same with reaching for things. I couldn't reach for the alarm in the morning without supporting my right arm with my left one. In retrospect, all I did was make the surgeon's job harder. Since they didn't do a second MRI, it might be that my shoulder was only 60% torn and all my skiing brought it to 90%. Who knows?
When I had mine done, a friend from work shortly after had his done. Lots of commiserating about the process. I found out a couple months ago he was going in to have the other shoulder done and he would be back to work in less than a week. I had been out several weeks as was he the first time. He also said he'd be at PT the next day and all other sorts of unbelievable claims.
It ends up there is a new procedure that for the life of me I can't remember the name, lapsomethingoranother. The key is that this summer he was already golfing when in the traditional procedure, he would still be in a sling! It was something like a month after the surgery. I'll find out the name and post it here. He spoke so highly about it that it almost made me want to tear my other one (no not really) and he's doing fine with no complaints.
Like has been mentioned, you need to have a surgeon that is good at the procedure so if there isn't a surgeon in your area that can do the lapthing, then either travel or go for the traditional one. The shoulder is way too important to your life to get a hack job. You also discover how connected your legs are to your shoulder. It's eye opening. Remember; if you get out of balance, the hands move. The first time I stumbled (two days after surgery), both hands shot forward to break my fall and the pain was so intense, I had to go sit down for a bit. I didn't fall, just miss-stepped going upstairs and the natural reaction is to throw your hands forward. Took my breath away. I still hold the hand rail on stairs because of that.
If it is going to be the traditional one, you need to prepare ahead of time. Get a comfy recliner to sleep in. Trust me, you can't get comfortable in a bed and drugs aside, it was the best sleep I had in years. I still sleep in one now and again and it is the only time I sleep through the night without waking up for something (I also have a bad back and wife with the reflexes of a ninja when it she hears snoring).
Some of the things I did was to get an electric razor and electric toothbrush. I'm no DaVinci and found out the hard way from a previous injury when I couldn't use my right hand for a couple weeks, how right handed I was. I almost lost an eye trying to brush my teeth! No way was I taking a razor to my neck with my left hand!!
I also finally bought an adult car (automatic transmission) and gave the Wrangler (manual) to my son. Shifting had become impossible for me anyway and shifting left handed is quite tricky on American vehicles.
I would recommend putting your arm in a sling for the day and see what the interruptions for you are and address them ahead of time. Taking a shower and getting dressed all become quite the chore and help is much appreciated. Simple things like unscrewing a shampoo cap have to be thought out.
And though I thought it was funny my wife did not when from the bathroom I yelled "I'm done!"
Hope all goes well,
Ken