抄録
Attempts were made to treat impingement syndrome (which is marked by severe pain felt on active elevation of the arm) by arthroscopic surgery with the intention of lessening surgical stress and hastening the rehabilitation of patients.
Ten males (11 shoulders) and 1 female (1 shoulder) ranging in age from 16 to 76 years (average age: 46.1 years) underwent this surgical treatment.
Massive tears of the cuff were treated by debri d ment of the soft tissue, responsible for the syndrome, that was formed at the greater tuberosity and subacromial bursa without the intervention of bones of ligaments, with satisfactory results in 3 of 4 cases.
In 2 cases of small tear of the supraspinatus tendon, the edges of the tear were trimmed and A. S. D. was performed.
In one of these 2 cases, the surgical procedure failed to improve the impingement syndrome associated with clicks on motion and, accordingly, the cuff was sutured later.
In all 3 cases of partial rupture of the cuff, arthroscopy revealed a tear of the articular portion of the tendon and treatment was by debridment of the lesion. The results were invariably quite satisfactory in all cases.
A. S. D. was performed on 2 sho u lder joints of 1 patient with stage II, and subacromial debridment was performed on the other patient. The results were gratifying in both cases.
For the impingement syndrome with associated pain in the elderly, arthroscopic o p eration seems to be the treatment of first choice and can be anticipated to prove of great aid in returning the patient early to sports activities.
