Search

Purpose: To compare arthroscopic suture bridge (SB) techniques with medial tying to those without tying, considering clinical and structural outcomes., Methods: We included 124 patients with rotator cuff tears after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair (ARCR). Fifty-three patients with clinical and structural evaluations 3, 12, and 24 months postoperatively were included and divided into 29 patients with medial tying (WMT group) and 24 without tying (WOMT group). Clinical outcomes comprised the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) scores. Structural outcomes were evaluated with magnetic resonance images (MRI) using Sugaya classifications., Results: JOA and UCLA scores in the WMT and WOMT groups improved significantly from before surgery to 24 months after surgery (P < 0.01, respectively). No significant difference was noted between groups. No significant postoperative retears (Sugaya types 4 and 5) between WMT and WOMT groups were noted at 3 months (5 vs 3 cases), 12 months (6 vs 5 cases), and 24 months (7 vs 6 cases) postoperatively. Complete healing (Sugaya type 1) was noted at 3 months (8 vs 11 cases), 12 months (10 vs 10 cases), and 24 months (8 vs 13 cases, P = 0.024) postoperatively. Incomplete healing (Sugaya types 2 and 3) were noted at 3 months (16 vs 10 cases), 12 months (13 vs 9 cases), and 24 months (14 vs 5 cases, P = 0.024) postoperatively., Conclusion: Clinical outcomes for both techniques were comparable, but the number of incompletely healed tendons in SB with medial tying was significantly larger at 24 months after surgery., Level of Evidence: This study is a level III, case-control study., Clinical Relevance: This study revealed the influence of medial tying in rotator cuff repair.

Background: Previous studies have evaluated the risk factors for retear of large/massive rotator cuff tears (RCTs) that were treated arthroscopically; however, most studies did not evaluate tear patterns. The present study hypothesized that postoperative risk factors are affected by the tearing patterns in large/massive cuff tears in patients undergoing arthroscopic rotator cuff repair (ARCR)., Methods: One hundred fifty patients with large/massive cuff tears underwent ARCR at our institution. Of these, 102 patients were enrolled in this study, with an average symptom duration of 36.3 ± 43.9 months and average age of 63.9 ± 9.4 years. According to the arthroscopic findings and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the 102 patients were divided into three groups based on the tendon location: anterosuperior tears (N = 59, group AS), posteosuperior tears (N = 21, group PS), and anteroposterior-extending tears (N = 22, group APE). Functional outcome was evaluated preoperatively and postoperatively using the Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) score and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) score. Retear was evaluated with MRI at a minimum of 1 year after surgery, using Sugaya's classification; Types IV and V were considered postoperative retears. Factors affecting postoperative retear were examined with univariate and multivariate analyses., Results: JOA/UCLA scores significantly improved postoperatively in the three groups (P < 0.01 for all). Postoperative retear was noted in 26 of 102 patients (25.5%) in this series: 10 patients in group AS (16.9%), 9 in group PS (42.9%), and 7 in group APE (31.8%). The retear rate was significantly higher in group PS than in the other two groups (P = 0.02). Multivariate analysis showed that decreased preoperative active external rotation range was a unique risk factor for postoperative retear in the PS and APE groups (95% confidence interval: 0.02-0.18, cut-off value: 25°, with an area under the curve of 0.90, P = 0.0025)., Conclusions: Although multivariate analysis failed to detect significant risk factor for retear in patients with anterosuperior large/massive cuff tears who undergo ARCR, it demonstrated that active external rotation less than 25° before surgery is a significant risk factor in those with posterosuperior large/massive tears. This study may help surgeons understand the results of arthroscopic surgery in patients with large/massive tears.