Massive, irreparable rotator cuff tears are challenging to treat and associated with pain and severe limitation in shoulder elevation due to the proximal migration of the humeral head and, consequently, subacromial impingement. Furthermore, retraction of the tendons in combination with fat infiltration and muscular weakness results in unpredictable treatment outcomes. While conservative treatme...

UNLABELLED To evaluate the results from patients who underwent arthroscopic debridement of extensive irreparable rotator cuff injuries. METHODS 27 patients were operated between 2003 and 2007, and 22 of them were evaluated. The surgical procedure consisted of arthroscopic debridement of the stumps of the tendons involved, bursectomy, removal of acromial osteophytes and, possibly, biceps tenot...

We treated 12 shoulders in ten patients with irreparable rotator-cuff tears by transfer of the latissimus dorsi. There were nine men and one woman. Their average age was 64.0 years and the average follow-up was 35.6 months (26 to 42). The results were excellent in four shoulders, good in four, fair in one, and poor in three. Active forward flexion improved from a preoperative average of 99 degr...

Introduction Rotator cuff tears are a common cause of pain and disability. 2 With modern advances in arthroscopy and arthroscopic techniques, most rotator cuff tears can now be repaired arthroscopically, with several authors reporting successful results. However, the optimal management of massive rotator cuff tears is controversial and evolving. In general, a massive rotator cuff tear (MRCT) is...

 Background: Recurrence rate of rotator cuff tears is still high despite the improvements of surgical techniques, materials used and a better knowledge of the healing process of the rotator cuff tendons. Large to massive rotator cuff tears are particularly associated with a high failure rate, especially in elderly. Augmentation of rotator cuff repairs with extracellular matrix or synthetic patc...