Arthroscopic Repair of Full-Thickness Tears of the Rotator Cuff
Eleven tears were small (less than one centimeter in length), forty-five were medium (one to three centimeters), eleven were large (more than three to five centimeters), and six were massive (more than five centimeters). The average length of the tear was twelve millimeters, and the average width was twenty-seven millimeters. Sixty-nine tendons were repaired anatomically, and four were repaired an average of three millimeters (range, two to eight millimeters) medial to the anatomical insertion of the tendon. An average of 2.3 (range, one to four) suture anchors were used in the repair. Sixty-three glenohumeral joints were normal, and ten had an intra-articular lesion. Seven patients had a concomitant resection of the acromioclavicular joint. The average duration of the operation was fiftysix minutes (range, thirty-five to ninety minutes). The active and passive ranges of motion improved significantly after the procedure (p = 0.0001). The strength of resisted elevation improved from 7.5 to 14.0 pounds (3.4 to 6.3 kilograms) (p = 0.0001). The average total score according to the rating scale of the University of California at Los Angeles improved from 12.4 to 31.1 points; the average total score according to the shoulder index of the American Shoulder and Elbow... (download full pdf article)