Authors:

William R Mook, Joshua A Greenspoon, Peter J Millett

Abstract:

Rotator cuff tears are common in an aging population, are a significant source of shoulder morbidity, and have significant direct and indirect societal economic burdens. Although symptoms from rotator cuff tears can improve with nonsurgical treatment, surgical repair of the ruptured tendon is often necessary to improve a patient’s function when nonsurgical measures fail. Additionally, repair of full thickness rotator cuff tears has been shown to be cost effective in all patient populations and produce net societal cost savings for patients under the age of sixty-one years. The goals of arthroscopic rotator cuff repair are to enhance shoulder function by improving motion and strength and reducing pain. Although some patients have been shown to experience short term benefits despite re-tear of their repaired rotator cuff tendons, long-term durability of functional improvement is likely dependent on maintenance of their healed tendon. Improved objective and subjective outcomes of rotator cuff repair have been predictably achieved when the tendon has been documented to heal, therefore achieving tendon healing is a primary surgical goal.

For the complete study: Arthroscopic Double-Row Transosseous Equivalent Rotator Cuff Repair with a Knotless Self-Reinforcing Technique