Infection after rotator cuff repair

Sixteen patients (15 men and 1 woman) were treated for infection complicating rotator cuff repair during the period 1975 through 1994. Eight of the 16 patients had their initial procedure performed elsewhere. The remaining 8 procedures were performed at our institution with the known incidence of this complication being 0.27%. In addition to intravenous antibiotic therapy, an average of 3.5 (range 2 to 8) operative procedures were required to eradicate the infections. Micro-organisms cultured were Propionibacter in 6, coagulase negative Staphylococcus in 4, Staphylococcus aureus in 4, Peptostreptococcus magnus in 1, and both Propionibacter and coagulase-negative Staphylococcus in 1. The deltoid was restored in all patients; the rotator cuff was reparable in 11. In the 12 shoulders with greater than 1 year of follow-up (average 51 months, range 14 to 165 months), active elevation averaged 110 degrees and external rotation 50 degrees. Four patients had no pain, 4 had minimal pain, and the remaining 4 had moderate pain. Satisfactory final results, which were determined by the patients' opinion or with the use of either the University of California, Los Angeles score or the modified Neer system, were obtained in 5 (42%) of the shoulders.