Abstract
Surgical repair of a massive rotator cuff tear is one of the most difficult problems in shoulder surgery. Occasionally the torn cuff edge cannot be pulled out enough to anchor around the humeral tuberosity with McLaughlin's technique. Teflon felt was used to repair such a condition in 9 joints of 8 patients. The mean follow-up period was one year, seven months.
The average JOA score was elevated to 92.8 after surgery from 43.4 before. The acromiohumeral interval was 4.5 mm on an average before surgery and 8.2 mm afterwards. While the follow-up periods have not been long yet, the short-term results have been excellent. For ease in performing surgery and expectation of being able to get good clinical results, we recommend this technique as a procedure for reconstruction of massive rotator cuff tears.
