ARTHROSCOPIC ROTATOR CUFF REPAIR MID-TERM RESULTS

Abstract

The aim of this prospective study was to report the mid-term results of arthroscopic repair of full thickness rotator cuff tears. Arthroscopic cuff repair, under regional interscalene block and balanced anaesthesia, was performed in 104 shoulders (102 patients). There were 52 female and 50 male patients with a mean age of 64 years (range 41 to 79). The mean size of the cuff tear was 3cm (range 1cm to 6 cm). Patients were discharged within 24 hours and followed a specific rehabilitation protocol. An assessment was performed pre-operatively and at a mean follow-up of 7 months (range 3 to 24 months). Outcome measures included pain, activities of daily living, shoulder function and level of patient satisfaction. Satisfactory pain relief was achieved in 98 patients (94%) with significant pain relief in 87 patients (83.6 %) and good in 12 patients (11.5 %). Ninety -six patients (92.3%) reported a satisfactory improvement in activities of daily living, with significant improvement in 89 (85.6%) and good in seven (6.7%). High levels of patient satisfaction were noted in 93 patients. Seven patients were moderately satisfied and two patients were not satisfied. The mean shoulder score improved from 29 pre-op to 82 post-op, and the shoulder function score from 32 pre-op to 84 post-op. No difference in outcome was found when the subgroup of 65 patients over the age of sixty was compared to the group of 37 patients under the age of sixty. We believe that this study has shown that the arthroscopic repair of the rotator cuff can consistently achieve a satisfactory outcome. It may therefore be considered as an alternative to the traditional open techniques.