Arthroscopic Rotator Cuff Repair Using the Suture Loop Shuttle Technique

With the arthroscope in the posterior portal, several suture loops are passed through the rotator cuff via the superior lateral portal before the first anchor is inserted. The suture loop is created by passing both free ends of a No. 2 monofilament (48-inch Prolene, Ethilon, or PDS; Ethicon, Somerville, NJ) suture into an arthroscopic suture passing device. The free ends and the loop of each suture loop are temporarily transferred into the anterior cannula. Anchor insertion and passage of the anchored sutures are performed from posterior to anterior. With standard suture anchors, the loop end of the suture loop must be located on the undersurface of the cuff. The suture anchors are inserted one at a time through the superior lateral portal and are placed into the prepared holes. Anchored sutures are temporarily pulled out through the inferior lateral portal. Next, the free ends of the most posterior suture loop are retrieved through the superior lateral portal. The looped end of this suture loop is retrieved through the inferior lateral portal. The suture loop is used to shuttle a single anchored suture through the rotator cuff and out through the superior lateral portal. Then, the other anchored suture is retrieved through the superior lateral portal with a suture grasper and tied.     

Arthroscopic Intratendinous Repair of the Delaminated Partial-Thickness Rotator Cuff Tear in Overhead Athletes

A distinct type of partial-thickness rotator cuff tear has been observed in overhead athletes, characterized by partial failure of the undersurface of the posterior supraspinatus and anterior infraspinatus tendons with intratendinous delamination. We present a technique of percutaneous intratendinous repair using nonabsorbable mattress sutures designed for the management of articular-side delaminated partial-thickness tears. After tear evaluation and preparation, the torn rotator cuff undersurface is held in a reduced position with a grasper through an anterolateral rotator interval portal while viewing intra-articularly. Two spinal needles are then placed percutaneously through the full thickness of the torn and intact rotator cuff. A polydioxanone suture is passed through each needle, retrieved out the anterior portal, and used to shuttle a single nonabsorbable No. 2 suture through the tissue, creating a mattress suture. Multiple mattress sutures can be placed as dictated by tear size and morphology, with suture retrieval and knot securing then proceeding in the subacromial space. We have adopted this approach with the goals of anatomically re-establishing the rotator cuff insertion and sealing the area of intratendinous delamination while preventing significant alteration to the anatomy of the rotator cuff insertion, which could lead to motion deficits, internal impingement, and potential tear recurrence.     

肩峰撞击征合并肩袖损伤的关节镜下治疗

目的分析关节镜下肩峰减压成形术及肩袖修复的临床效果。方法自2005年初始,我院对11例肩峰撞击征并肩袖损伤行关节镜下肩峰减压成形术,部分行肩袖修复术,其中男5例,女6例,年龄21～57岁,平均40岁,8例无外伤史,3例有外伤史。患者均有肩关节疼痛、肌肉萎缩、活动受限、上举困难、疼痛反射弧阳性、撞击注射试验阳性,Neer征阳性;5例有患侧卧位痛。X线提示肱骨大结节骨赘9例和肩峰骨刺2例,A—H间隙距离变小,小于1．0cm8例、小于0．5cm3例。MRI扫描均示肩袖结构T1为强信号,如关节积液T2相强信号。关节镜检查可见肩袖大撕裂（30～50mm）4例,中撕裂（10～30mm）5例,小撕裂（小于10mm）2例。行关节镜下肩峰下减压成形术,其中8例行缝合锚钉肩袖修复术。分别在术前及最终随访时采用美国肩肘外科医师（American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons,ASES）和Constant—Murley评分进行功能评估。结果术后随访22．5个月（13～34个月）。患者手术前平均ASES评分为62．4分（47～76分）,VAS评分平均为5．8分（3～8分）,Constant—Murley评分为66．7分（42～79分）,平均外展35．5°（30°～50°）,平均外旋为28．4°（0°～45°）;终末随访时平均ASES评分为94．6分（79～100分）,其中VAS评分为0．6分（0～2分）,Constant—Murley评分为93．6分（77～100分）,肩关节外展160°（80°～180°）,平均外旋30．2°（20°～55°）。8例患者冈上、下肌萎缩恢复,ASES评分优良率为81．8％,Constant—Murley评分优良率为90．9％。术后各项评分均存在显著性差异（ASES：P〈0．001,t一12．324;VAS：P〈0．001,t=14．765;外展：P〈0．001,t=15．236;外旋：P〈0．01,t=7．967;Constant—Murley：P〈0.001,t=16．647）。结论a）肩峰撞击征、肩袖损伤是关节镜手术的适应证;b）对肩袖单纯修复是不够的,必须同时解决撞击因素;c）不宜将肩峰切除过多,以免发生骨折;d）尽管镜下手术技术难度较大,但镜下视野广、创伤小、术后及早进行功能锻炼,功能可以得到很好恢复,故镜下进行肩袖损伤、肩峰成形等手术应值得提倡。     

Medial Rotator Cuff Failure After Arthroscopic Double-Row Rotator Cuff Repair

Persistent tendon defects after rotator cuff repair are not uncommon. Recently, the senior author has identified a subset of 5 patients (mean age, 52 years; range, 42 to 59 years) after arthroscopic double-row rotator cuff repair who showed an unusual mechanism of tendon failure. In these patients the tendon footprint appears well fixed to the greater tuberosity with normal thickness. However, medial to the intact footprint, the tendon is torn with full-thickness defects through the rotator cuff. All patients were involved in Workers' Compensation claims. Magnetic resonance arthrography showed an intact cuff footprint but dye leakage in all patients. Revision surgery was performed at a mean of 8.6 months after the index procedure and showed an intact rotator cuff footprint but cuff failure medial to the footprint. Four patients had repair of the defects by tendon-to-tendon side-to-side sutures, whereas one did not undergo repair. Medial-row failure of the rotator cuff is a previously unreported mechanism of failure after double-row rotator cuff repair. Given the small number of patients in this study, it is unclear whether these defects are symptomatic. However, repair of these defects resulted in improvement in pain in 4 of 5 patients.     

Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound (CEUS) as Predictor for Early Retear and Functional Outcome After Supraspinatus Tendon Repair

Supraspinatus (SSP) tendon tears represent a common indication for shoulder surgery. Yet, prediction of postoperative function and tendon retear remains challenging and primarily relies on morphologic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based parameters, supported by patients' demographic data like age, gender, and comorbidities. Considering continuously high retear rates, especially in patients with larger tears and negative prognostic factors, improved outcome prediction could be of high clinical value. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) enables an assessment of dynamic perfusion of the SSP muscle. As a potential surrogate for muscle vitality, CEUS might reflect functional properties of the SSP and support improved outcome prediction after tendon repair. Fifty patients with isolated SSP tendon tears were prospectively enrolled. Preoperatively, SSP muscle perfusion was quantified by CEUS and conventional morphologic parameters like tear size, fatty infiltration, and tendon retraction were assessed by MRI. At six months follow-up, shoulder function, tendon integrity, and muscle perfusion were reassessed. The predictive value of preoperative CEUS for postoperative shoulder function and tendon integrity was evaluated. 35 patients entered the statistical analysis. Preoperative CEUS-based assessment of SSP perfusion significantly correlated with early postoperative shoulder function (Constant, r = 0.48, p < 0.018) and tendon retear (r = 0.67, p < 0.001). CEUS-based subgroup analysis identified patients with exceptionally high, respectively low risk for tendon retear. CEUS-based assessment of the SSP seemed to predict early shoulder function and tendon retear after SSP repair and allowed to identify patient subgroups with exceptionally high or low risk for tendon retear. © 2019 The Authors. Journal of Orthopaedic Research® published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Orthopaedic Research Society. J Orthop Res 38:1150-1158, 2020     

A Comparison of Conventional Ultrasonography and Arthrosonography in the Assessment of Cuff Integrity after Rotator Cuff Repair

Background

This study was designed to perform conventional ultrasonography, magnetic resonance arthrography (MRA) and arthrosonography exams after rotator cuff repair to compare the results of conventional ultrasonography and arthrosonography with those of MRA as the gold standard.

Methods

We prospectively studied 42 consecutive patients (14 males, 28 females; average age, 59.4 years) who received arthroscopic rotator cuff repair due to full-thickness tears of the supraspinatus tendon from 2008 to 2010. The integrity assessment of the repaired rotator cuff was performed 6 months postoperatively using conventional ultrasonography, MRA, and arthrosonography.

Results

The diagnostic accuracy of the conventional ultrasonography compared to MRA was 78.6% and the McNemar test results were 0.016 in full-thickness tear and 0.077 in partial-thickness tear. The diagnostic accuracy of arthrosonography compared to MRA was 92.9% and the McNemar test results were 0.998 in full-thickness tear and 0.875 in partial-thickness tear.

Conclusions

It was found that the integrity assessment of the repaired rotator cuff by ultrasonography must be guarded against and that arthrosonography is an effective alternative method in the postoperative integrity assessment. Also, an arthrosonography seems to be a suitable modality to replace the conventional ultrasonography.     

自体腘绳肌腱修复兔巨大肩袖缺损的实验研究

目的研究自体腘绳肌腱修复兔巨大肩袖缺损腱骨愈合的早期实验效果。方法将40只成年雄性新西兰大白兔随机分为3组,分别为正常组(n=8)、模型组(n=8)和实验组(n=24)。正常组相同方式饲养但不予手术处理;模型组将大白兔双前肢肱骨头大结节处切取1.5 cm×1.0 cm的肩袖组织缺损,不予缝合修补后直接缝合皮肤;实验组在模型组的基础上用自体腘绳肌腱修复巨大肩袖缺损。实验组分别于术后第8、16、24周时安乐死8只大白兔后取出双肩标本。将标本处理后分别进行组织形态学分析和生物力学研究测试。结果组织形态学分析结果显示:实验组术后24周腱骨界面胶原纤维明显增多,腱骨隧道连接处可见Sharpey纤维、纤维软骨细胞及纤维软骨等腱骨愈合成分。生物力学研究结果显示实验组肌腱最大负荷随时间延长呈持续增大趋势(各时间点之间比较,P<0.05),术后24周可以获得较强的力学强度。结论应用自体腘绳肌腱修复兔巨大肩袖缺损可以获得良好的腱骨愈合。