• Leonard Achenbach, Pia Ahlers, Christian G Pfeifer, Stefan Greiner, and Max J Kääb.
• Sporthopaedicum Regensburg-Straubing, Regensburg, Germany. leonardachenbach@gmail.com.
• Arch Orthop Trauma Surg. 2023 Jan 1; 143 (1): 133139133-139.

AimTo evaluate the functional outcome of partial reconstruction margin convergence in the treatment of massive, irreparable posterosuperior rotator cuff tear (RCT).MethodsThis retrospective, single-center study included all patients that were operated by means of a partial repair and infraspinatus shift for a massive, posterosuperior cuff tear between 2009 and 2016, either in arthroscopic or mini-open technique. Outcome measures included sex- and age-adapted Constant Score (saCS), Western Ontario Rotator Cuff (WORC) Index, Disabilities of Arm, Shoulder and Hand Scores (DASH), and relative effect per patient (REPP).ResultsFifty-six shoulders in 54 patients (mean age: 66 ± 7 years) were evaluated at a mean follow-up of 40 ± 9 months. The mean tear size was Bateman 3.1 ± 0.7 and Patte 2.3 ± 0.4. All clinical scores showed improvement. The saCS improved from 64.1 ± 13.4 to 90.4 ± 13.7 (p < 0.0001), the DASH score from 51.8 ± 9.4 to 10.2 ± 13.4 (p < 0.0001) and the WORC index from 47.1% ± 8.6 to 87.9% ± 13.7 (p < 0.0001). The abduction strength of the affected side (1.7 ± 1.6 kg) was not restored to the same level as the contralateral side (5.4 ± 2.7 kg, p < 0.0001).ConclusionPartial cuff repair for posterosuperior, massive cuff tears yields good clinical outcome with a low rate of complications and high proportion of good and excellent responders.Level Of EvidenceLevel IV, therapeutic case series.© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.

18 keywords...

hide…