Clinical Results of Surgical Treatment for Rotator Cuff Tears

Abstract

[Purpose]We have performed the McLaughlin procedure for rotator cuff tears, and the Debeyre procedure if suturing by the McLaughlin method was impossible. The present study was conducted to evaluate various factors that may influence the postoperative course of rotator cuff tears.
[Subjects and methods]The subjects were 37 surgically treated patients with rotator cuff tears(22males and 15 females) whose postoperative courses were followed for more than 1 year. The patients age ranged between 35 and 80 years(mean age: 61 years). Based on the size of the tears, shoulder were classified into the following 3 groups: Group I (shoulders with incomplete tears or tears measuring less than 1 cm in width); Group II (shoulders with a single rotator cuff tears measuring 1 to 3 cm in width); and Group III( shoulders with more than two rotator cuff tears measuring more than 3 cm in width). Rotator cuff tears in 4 shoulders were surgically treated by end-to-end and side -to-side sutures or by an arthroscopic debridement. The McLaughlin procedure was used to treat rotator cuff tears in 29 shoulders, while the Debeyre procedure was used in 4 shoulders. Shoulder joint functions were evaluated before and after surgery using the JOA scores.
[Results]The postoperative JOA scores were signifcantly higher than those before surgery in all groups. Moreover, shoulder joint functions improved more in Group I than in Groups II and III postoperatively. However, there were no significant differences in other factors that might have influenc ed the postoperative course of rotator cuff tears.
[Conclusion]The postoperative course of rotator cuff tears correlated with the size of the tears. However, other factors did not influence the postoperative course of rotator cuff tears.