Mid-term clinical and radiological outcomes of arthroscopic repair of isolated and combined subscapularis tears: A single-center experience

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the mid-term clinical and radiological results of patients who underwent arthroscopic subscapularis (SSC) tendon repair and to address the possible effect of repair technique(single or double row), tear pattern, and concomitant procedures among supraspinatus tears and long head of biceps tendon (LHBT) pathologies on outcomes and failure parameters.

Methods: 45 patients (24 female; mean age = 55.9 years, age range = 37 - 78) who underwent arthroscopic repair of an SSC tear between January 2009 and December 2016 were retrospectively identified and included inthe study. Pre- and postoperative internal rotation strength and shoulder joint range of motion angles were measured. Clinical outcomes were assessed by Visual Analog Scale (VAS), American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES), Constant-Murley, Rotator cuff-quality of life (RC-QoL), and University of California Los Angles (UCLA) scores preoperatively and at the final follow-up.

Results: The mean follow-up was 45.2 (range = 36-104) months. 14 patients had isolated SSC tears. The mean preoperative VAS, ASES, Constant-Murley, RC-QoL, and UCLA scores for all patients were respectively 8.6, 21.2, 24, 28.9, and 12. Significant improvement was observed in each clinical outcome at the final follow-up: 0.96, 88.4, 86.4, 90.2, and 32.2, respectively. Improvement in outcome scores was more prominent in patients with Lafosse grade I and II SSC tendon tears repaired by singlerow technique and in patients with concomitant supraspinatus tendon repairs. The mean preoperativeinternal rotation strength according to theOxford scalewas 3.4 (±0.6) / 5 and raised to 4.7 (±0.4) / 5 at the final follow-up (P <.001).Although concomitant biceps interventions significantly improved the outcome scores; this improvement was not clinically significant. Failure was only seen in 6 patients with high-grade (Lafosse III or IV) tears.

Conclusion: Significant improvement in clinical outcomes and lower failure ratios were more prominent in patients with Lafosse grade I or II tears than grade III or IV. Concomitant biceps interventions made a positivecontribution to the clinical outcome. Early diagnosis and repair seem to be advantageous before low-grade SSC tendon tears turn into high-grade tears.

Level of Evidence: Level IV, Therapeutic Study

Cite this article as: Kurnaz R, Ergün S, Aşçı M, Akgün U, Güneş T. Mid-term clinical and radiological outcomes of arthroscopic repair of isolated and combined subscapularis tears: A single-center experience. Acta Orthop Traumatol Turc 2021; 55(6): 473–479.