In 1990, after many years of experience with 150 repairs, an arthroscopic transhumeral rotator cuff reconstruction technique was developed and used by the authors to treat all sizes of rotator cuff tears. This technique allowed the same type of repair to be performed as with the open procedure, thus providing the possibility to achieve the same success rate as an open repair with the advantages of minimally invasive surgery.

We reviewed a total of 307 arthroscopic rotator cuff repair procedures performed on 304 patients between December 1990 and March 1994. There were 150 cases with arthroscopic transhumeral fixation and 157 with tendon end-to-end. Of the 150 transhumeral repair cases studied, 18 cases were traumatic, 124 were Impingement III tears, and eight were defects after calcium removal. The tears were classified as 42 – small, 66 – medium, and 42 – large. Average age was 56 years.

An anterior acromioplasty and an arthroscopic tendon to bone repair using the bone cutting giant needle was performed in all of the cases. An AC joint plasty was done in 20 cases and a tendon transposition in five cases. Postoperatively, the patients started full passive motion a day after surgery and active motion six weeks later.

Of the 150 cases with arthroscopic transhumeral repair cases, it was possible to evaluate 132 patients having 133 procedures. Mean follow-up was five years. The results were evaluated according to the classification of Neer. There were 64% classified as excellent, 34% as satisfactory, and 2% as unsatisfactory. The UCLA average score improved from 15.8 preoperatively to 31.5 postoperatively. Full reconstruction was done in all cases except three.

Arthroscopic transhumeral reconstruction of rotator cuff tear reduces morbidity without having to perform open surgery. This procedure can be performed in an outpatient setting. After the learning curve, repairs are easier than the open method and have fewer complications.