PURPOSE To compare the accuracy of ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging in the detection of rotator cuff tears. MATERIALS AND METHODS Ninety-six patients with clinically suspected rotator cuff pathology underwent ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging of the shoulder. The findings in 88 patients were compared with arthroscopy or open surgery. RESULTS Full-thickness tear wa...

PURPOSE the aim of this quantitative review is to document potential benefit and adverse effects of hyaluronic acid (HA) injection into the shoulder with rotator cuff tears. METHODS a systematic literature search was performed in english PubMed, Medline, Ovid, Google Scholar and Embase databases using the combined key words "hyaluronic acid", "rotator cuff tear", "hyaluronate", "shoulder", "v...

BACKGROUND A persistent atrophy of muscle fibers and an accumulation of fat, collectively referred to as fatty degeneration, commonly occur in patients with chronic rotator cuff tears. The etiology of fatty degeneration and function of the residual rotator cuff musculature have not been well characterized in humans. We hypothesized that muscles from patients with chronic rotator cuff tears have...

BACKGROUND The etiology of rotator cuff disease is age related, as documented by prevalence data. Despite conflicting results, growing evidence suggests that distinct scapular morphologies may accelerate the underlying degenerative process. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the predictive power of 5 commonly used radiologic parameters of scapular morphology to discriminate betwee...

This study evaluated pre- and postoperative clinical and structural outcome data on anterosuperior rotator cuff tears involving the supraspinatus and subscapularis treated by arthroscopic methods. Between June 2006 and October 2007, a total of 155 consecutive patients underwent an arthroscopic repair for a supraspinatus or supraspinatus and infraspinatus (superior) rotator cuff tear. Of these, ...

Several studies have noted that increasing age is a significant factor for diminished rotator cuff healing, while biomechanical studies have suggested the reason for this may be an inferior healing environment in older patients. Larger tears and fatty infiltration or atrophy negatively affect rotator cuff healing. Arthroscopic rotator cuff repair, double-row repairs, performing a concomitant ac...

Massive rotator cuff tears may not be primarily repairable with salvage options not necessarily providing acceptable results. Extrinsic tendon transfer is a significant undertaking with prolonged rehabilitation and variable outcome. A novel technique for the reconstruction of massive tears, not amenable to primary repair, by performing a transfer of the intrinsic posterior rotator cuff onto an ...

s everal intrinsic and extrinsic factors have been advoated in the pathogenesis of rotator cuff tears, but it is till unclear whether the origin of the tear is related to endon degeneration itself or induced by several morhologic changes. The purpose of this study is to deermine the relationship between the acromial coverge of the humeral head and the presence of a cuff ear. We evaluated 148 sh...

PURPOSE To review outcomes of arthroscopic repair of rotator cuff tears using absorbable anchors with a single-row technique. METHODS 66 patients underwent arthroscopic repair for rotator cuff tears using absorbable anchors with a single-row technique. 51 of them aged 37 to 73 (mean, 57) years had been followed up for a mean of 29 (range, 20-37) months. The extent of the tear was classified a...

We present our technique in managing high-grade bursal-sided rotator cuff tears. In this technique, the remaining intact cuff tissue is not sacrificed. The suture bridge technique is used to uniformly tension the torn tissue to the rotator cuff footprint. No knots are tied on the rotator cuff to minimize the tension on the cuff. The sutures are then anchored on the lateral cortex of the humerus...