There are few descriptions of chronic adhesive subacromial bursitis. The purpose of this study is to describe the pathology of this lesion as an independent clinical entity in shoulder lesions. Eleven cases with this lesion were observed during operative procedures. The patients' age was 31.2 years on average. All the patients had a history of trauma or overuse of the affected shoulder. Motion pain with a snapping phenomenon and dullness in the affected shoulder were typical complaints. Subacromial bursograms revealed an absence or narrowing of the intrabursal space. At operation, the subacromial bursa was obscured by a thick, fibrous, well developed adhesion which involved the entire bursa. A thick adhered bursa disturbed the normal subacromial gliding mechanism. The snapping phenomenon was observed between the subacromial space and the hypertrophic adhesive subacromial bursa. Biopsy specimens showed a thickened bursa and fibrous formation with hyalinization.
We conclude that chronic adhesive subacromial bursitis should be identified as an independent clinical entity in shoulder lesions.
