Shoulder & Elbow Journal Scan

Arthroscopic repair of massive contracted rotator cuff tears: aggressive release with anterior and posterior interval slides do not improve cuff healing and integrity.

J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2013 Aug 21;95(16):1482-8

Authors: Kim SJ, Kim SH, Lee SK, Seo JW, Chun YM

Abstract
BACKGROUND: Few studies of large-to-massive contracted rotator cuff tears have examined the arthroscopic complete repair obtained by a posterior interval slide and whether the clinical outcomes or structural integrity achieved are better than those after partial repair without the posterior interval slide.
METHOD: The study included forty-one patients with large-to-massive contracted rotator cuff tears, not amenable to complete repair with margin convergence alone. The patients underwent either arthroscopic complete repair with a posterior interval slide and side-to-side repair of the interval slide edge (twenty-two patients; Group P) or partial repair with margin convergence (nineteen patients; Group M). The patient assignment was not randomized. The Simple Shoulder Test (SST), American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) score, University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) shoulder score, and range of motion were used to compare the functional outcomes. Preoperative and six-month postoperative magnetic resonance arthrography (MRA) images were compared within or between groups.
RESULTS: At the two-year follow-up evaluation, the SST, ASES score, UCLA score, and range of motion had significantly improved (p < 0.001 for all) in both groups. However, no significant differences were detected between groups. Even though the difference in preoperative tear size on