Purpose
To evaluate return to sport, clinical outcomes, and complications in a series of athletes
with painful partial-thickness rotator cuff tears treated with the arthroscopic in
situ repair with a minimum 2-year follow-up.
Methods
Retrospective case series. Seventy-two patients who had undergone an arthroscopic
in situ repair for partial-thickness rotator cuff tears were evaluated. We assessed
return to sport and the level achieved after surgery. Clinical assessment consisted
of glenohumeral range of motion measurement and the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons
score. Pain was recorded using a visual analog scale. Postoperative complications
were also assessed.
Results
The mean age was 42.2 years (range, 21-66 years), and the mean follow-up was 54 months
(range, 24-113 months). Sixty-one patients (87%) were able to return to sports. Fifty-six
patients (80%) returned to the same level they had previous to the injury. The mean
interval between surgery and return to competition was 5.6 months. The final functional
outcomes were related neither to the type of sports nor to the level of competition
before the injury. All active range of motion parameters improved significantly (P < .0001). The American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons score improved from 43.3 to 88.1,
and the visual analog scale scores improved from 6.1 to 1.2 (P < .0001). No significant difference regarding return to sports or functional outcomes
was found between articular and bursal-sided tears. Only 5 patients developed a postoperative
adhesive capsulitis that responded to physical therapy.
Conclusions
In patients with partial-thickness rotator cuff tears, arthroscopic in situ repair
resulted in excellent functional outcomes, with most of the patients returning to
sport and at the same level they had before injury. The results were equally favorable
in articular and bursal tears.
Level of Evidence
Level IV, therapeutic case series.
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: November 22, 2018
Accepted:
July 13,
2018
Received:
March 9,
2018
Footnotes
The authors report that they have no conflicts of interest in the authorship and publication of this article. Full ICMJE author disclosure forms are available for this article online, as supplementary material.
This study was approved by the Ethical Committee of the Italian Hospital of Buenos Aires.
Identification
Copyright
© 2018 by the Arthroscopy Association of North America
