The Double-Pulley Technique for Double-Row Rotator Cuff Repair

In an effort to maximize the area of footprint coverage, we developed the “double-pulley technique” for double-row rotator cuff repairs. Two suture anchors are inserted at the articular margin of the greater tuberosity (one anterior and one posterior). All 4 suture strands from each anchor are passed through a single medial point on the torn cuff. In this way, the 4 suture strands from the anteromedial anchor pass through 1 point in the cuff and the 4 strands from the posteromedial anchor pass through a different point in the cuff. A suture strand from 1 anchor is tied extracorporeally to a suture strand of the same color from the other anchor. The other ends of those 2 strands are then pulled, thereby delivering this extracorporeal knot into the joint and over the medial footprint. These 2 free suture strands are then tied together as a static knot. The procedure is repeated with the other sutures. This technique creates a double mattress suture medially, which compresses the intervening tendon bridge against its bone bed. We call this procedure the double-pulley technique because it uses the anchor eyelets as pulleys to deliver the extracorporeal knot into the shoulder. After the lateral row repair is performed, the rotator cuff footprint will be completely reconstituted.     

关节镜辅助小切口肩袖修复术治疗肩袖撕裂

目的 探讨关节镜辅助小切口修复术治疗肩袖撕裂的临床效果. 方法 1999年3月～2004年3月应用关节镜辅助小切口修复术治疗肩袖撕裂22例.13例行关节镜检查,小切口肩峰下间隙减压及肩袖修复术;9例行关节镜下肩峰下间隙减压及小切口肩袖修复术.采用UCLA肩评分标准进行评价. 结果 22例随访12～72个月,平均47个月,UCLA评分由术前（14.8±3.8）分升至术后（32.0±4.7）分（t=15.086,P=0.000）.优7例,良13例,可1例,差1例;20例满意. 结论 关节镜辅助小切口修复术是治疗肩袖撕裂的有效方法,操作简单,创伤小.     

A Novel Transosseous Button Technique for Rotator Cuff Repair

In an attempt to maximize stability by improving the lateral footprint compression of our repair in rotator cuff tears, we have been using a rotator cuff button (Arthrex, Naples, FL) passed through a transosseous tunnel as an anchor for our transosseous sutures. Our new innovation is to pass a rotator cuff button fully loaded with 4 strands around the central post, with 2 leading strands and 2 trailing strands on either end, through our transosseous tunnel. In this way, we can use the 4 central strands through our tunnel to obtain 2 good mattress sutures as a primary repair and the peripheral 4 strands passed around the lateral humerus as over sew mattress sutures to obtain good compression of the lateral tendon and so improve the footprint area. A double row equivalent is achieved. This technique has a good primary hold in the form of a device with proven history and avoids multiple anchors in the lateral humerus. Because it uses only a single fixation device, it is also significantly more economical. Theoretical risks to the axillary nerve or with osteoporosis have not been seen in practice. Tensioning the repair with suture passage through transosseous tunnels is readily achieved.     

The Factors Affecting the Clinical Outcome and Integrity of Arthroscopically Repaired Rotator Cuff Tears of the Shoulder

Background

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the functional and anatomic results of arthroscopic rotator cuff repair, and to analyze the factors affecting the integrity of arthroscopically repaired rotator cuff tears of the shoulder.

Methods

One hundred sixty-nine consecutive shoulders that underwent arthroscopic rotator cuff repair, had a postoperative MRI evaluation and were followed for at least two years were enrolled in this study. The mean age was 57.6 years (range, 38 to 74 years) and the mean follow-up period was 39 months (range, 24 to 83 months).

Results

The rotator cuff was completely healed in 131 (77.5%) out of 169 shoulders and recurrent tears occurred in 38 shoulders (22.5%). At the last follow-up visit, the mean score for pain during motion was 1.53 (range, 0 to 4) in the completely healed group and 1.59 (range, 0 to 4) in the group with recurrent tears (p = 0.092). The average elevation strength was 7.87 kg (range, 4.96 to 11.62 kg) and 5.25 kg (range, 4.15 to 8.13 kg) and the mean University of California at Los Angeles score was 30.96 (range, 26 to 35) and 30.64 (range, 23 to 34), respectively (p < 0.001, p = 0.798). The complete healing rate was 87.8% in the group less than 50 years of age (49 shoulders), 79.4% in the group over 51 years but less than 60 years of age (68 shoulders), and 65.4% in the group over 61 years of age (52 shoulders, p = 0.049); it was 96.7% in the group with small-sized tears (30 shoulders), 87.3% in the group with medium-sized tears (71 shoulders), and 58.8% in the group with large-sized or massive tears (68 shoulders, p = 0.009). All of the rotator cuffs with a global fatty degeneration index of greater than two preoperatively had recurrent tears.

Conclusions

Arthroscopic repair of full-thickness rotator cuff tears led to a relatively high rate of recurrent defects. However, the minimum two-year follow up demonstrated excellent pain relief and improvement in the ability to perform the activities of daily living, despite the structural failures. The factors affecting tendon healing were the patient''s age, the size and extent of the tear, and the presence of fatty degeneration in the rotator cuff muscle.     

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.     

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.     

Gender Affects Early Postoperative Outcomes of Rotator Cuff Repair

Background

The literature does not provide consistent information on the impact of patients'' gender on recovery after rotator cuff repair. The purpose of this study was to determine whether gender affects pain and functional recovery in the early postoperative period after rotator cuff repair.

Methods

Eighty patients (40 men and 40 women) were prospectively enrolled. Pain intensity and functional recovery were evaluated, using visual analog scale (VAS) pain score and range of motion on each of the first 5 postoperative days, at 2 and 6 weeks and at 3, 6, and 12 months after surgery. Perioperative medication-related adverse effects and postoperative complications were also assessed.

Results

The mean VAS pain score was significantly higher for women than men at 2 weeks after surgery (p = 0.035). For all other periods, there was no significant difference between men and women in VAS pain scores, although women had higher scores than men. Mean forward flexion in women was significantly lower than men at 6 weeks after surgery (p = 0.033) and the mean degree of external rotation in women was significantly lower than men at 6 weeks (p = 0.007) and at 3 months (p = 0.017) after surgery. There was no significant difference in medication-related adverse effects or postoperative complications.

Conclusions

Women had more pain and slower recovery of shoulder motion than men during the first 3 months after rotator cuff repair. These findings can serve as guidelines for pain management and rehabilitation after surgery and can help explain postoperative recovery patterns to patients with scheduled rotator cuff repair.     

Correlation between Severity of Synovitis and Clinical Features in Rotator Cuff Tears

BackgroundRotator cuff tears can be asymptomatic in some cases; however, even when the tear size is small, clinical symptoms can be very severe. This suggests that symptoms of rotator cuff tears are related to factors other than the size. Although synovitis has been cited as one of the factors, there is no grading system for synovitis in rotator cuff tears. Moreover, there are few studies that evaluated the relationship between synovitis and clinical features in patients with rotator cuff tears.MethodsPatients with medium-sized rotator cuff tears, who were scheduled for arthroscopic repair, were recruited for this study. The glenohumeral joint was divided into 4 quarters. Then, vascularity and hypertrophy of the joint were graded in each quarter using a modified scoring system. Clinical assessment was performed preoperatively and at 3 months and 6 months after surgery. Finally, correlation between the severity of synovitis and clinical features was analyzed.ResultsThe intraobserver correlation coefficient was 0.815 to 0.918 and the interobserver correlation coefficient was 0.779 to 0.992 for the single measurement. Vascularity was significantly correlated with the range of motion, strength, and constant score within 6 months after surgery. Hypertrophy was correlated with the range of motion within 6 months after surgery.ConclusionsSynovitis in the shoulder with rotator cuff tears can be graded by using our modified scoring system. The severity of synovitis was closely related to the clinical features after surgery. Therefore, when treating patients with rotator cuff tears, treatment of synovitis should also be considered.     

肩关节镜下缝线桥技术治疗巨大肩袖撕裂的前瞻性研究

目的 探讨肩关节镜下缝线桥技术治疗巨大肩袖损伤的临床效果。方法 选取我科2018年1月至2020年9月收治的肩袖巨大撕裂病人120例,随机纳入单排缝合组、双排缝合组和缝线桥组,每组40例。比较三组病人治疗前后肩关节疼痛视觉模拟量表（visual analogue scale,VAS）评分、肩关节Constant-Murley功能评分、加州大学洛杉矶分校（University of California at Los Angeles,UCLA）肩关节评分和美国肩肘外科协会（American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons,ASES）评分及术后并发症发生情况。结果三组病人术后3个月时VAS评分未见明显统计学差异,但是缝线桥组术后6个月及9个月时VAS评分较单排缝合及双排缝合组明显降低,差异具有统计学意义（P<0.05）;术后3、6、12、24个月,缝线桥组的Constant-Murley功能评分、UCLA评分和ASES评分均较单排缝合组及双排缝合组明显增高,差异具有统计学意义（P<0.05）;缝线桥组病人再撕裂发生率较单排缝合组及双排缝合组明显降低,差异...