The results of arthroscopic repair in partial rotator cuff tears

Abstract

Objectives: We evaluated patients who underwent arthroscopic repair for partial rotator cuff tears less than 50% of tendon thickness with respect to the course of tears and functional results.
Methods: Nineteen patients (10 women, 9 men; mean age 49 years; range 40 to 70 years) who did not benefit from conservative treatment for partial rotator cuff tears were treated with arthroscopic debridement with or without subacromial decompression. Twelve patients had a history of trauma before the appearance of complaints which had a mean duration of 12 months (range 7 to 24 months) before arthroscopic repair. Partial tears were on the articular side in 12 patients, and on the bursal side in seven patients. The patients were assessed with preoperative and postoperative physical examination, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and UCLA scores.
Results: The mean preoperative and postoperative UCLA scores were 16.8 (range 10 to 20) and 29.0 (range 9 to 35), respectively (p