2015 ISAKOS Biennial Congress ePoster #2434

Functional Outcome After Arthroscopic Repair of Large and Massive Rotator Cuff Tears at Five-Year Follow-Up

Bruce S. Miller, MD, MS, Ann Arbor, MI UNITED STATES
Jacob Williams, BS, Ann Arbor, MI UNITED STATES
James Carpenter, Ann Arbor, MI UNITED STATES

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

FDA Status Cleared

Summary: At five year follow-up, subjects with intact rotator cuff repairs reported clinical outcome scores superior to those that had known recurrent tears. Scores did not change significantly for either group between 2 and 5 years after surgery.

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Abstract:

INTRODUCTION/OBJECTIVE
We have previously reported on the results of a cohort of subjects who underwent arthroscopic repair of large and massive rotator cuff tears. The cohort was followed with serial ultrasound imaging and functional outcome scores. At last report at two-year follow-up, 41% of subjects had recurrent tears, and these were associated with inferior clinical outcomes when compared to subjects with intact repairs. The objective of the present study was to report functional outcome of this cohort at 5-year follow-up.

Methods

Twenty-two consecutive patients with large (>3 cm) rotator cuff tears underwent arthroscopic repair with a standardized technique. Serial ultrasound examinations were performed at 2 days, 2 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, and 24 months after surgery. Western Ontario Rotator Cuff (WORC) Index scores were also collected at these time points. Patients were recently contacted to complete the WORC at 5-year clinical follow-up.

Results

Of the 22 subjects in the original cohort, 17 (77%) completed WORC scores at 5 year follow-up. At 5 years, patients with intact repairs of the rotator cuff reported outcomes superior to those with recurrent tears (WORC for intact repairs: mean=158.2, range 5-538; WORC for re-tears: mean= 720.2, range 2-1551; p=0.01). WORC scores did not change significantly for either group between 2 and 5 years after surgery.

DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION
Subjects with intact rotator cuff repairs reported clinical outcome scores superior to those that had known recurrent tears. Differences between these two populations remained stable from years 2 to 5 after surgery. Future efforts should aim at strategies to improve the structural healing of rotator cuff repairs and to more clearly define surgical indications for rotator cuff repair.