In a subset of patients with rotator cuff tears, the glenohumeral joint has minimal degenerative changes and the rotator cuff tendon is either irreparable or very poor quality and unlikely to heal. Reverse shoulder arthroplasty (RSA) is often considered for these patients despite the lack of glenohumeral arthritis. However, due to the permanent destruction of the glenohumeral articular surfaces...

BACKGROUND Rotator cuff rupture is associated with dysfunction, pain and muscular weakness related to the upper extremity. Some evidence exists to support the beneficial effect of exercises but there is lack of evidence of which exercises imply the best effect and how physiotherapy should be administered. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a neuromuscular exercise...

Isolated ruptures of the subscapularis and anterosuperior rotator cuff lesions are encountered more rarely than supraspinatus or anteroposterior rotator cuff tears. In certain circumstances, reconstruction of the tendon may not be possible due to fatty degeneration and atrophy of the subscapularis muscle or poor tendon quality. Tendon transfer may represent the only surgical option for treatmen...

book p.80. 4. Burkhart S. A unified biomechanical rationale for the treatment of rotator cuff tears : Debridement versus repair. In : Rotator Cuff Disorders. W. Z. Burkhead, ed. Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore, 1996, pp. 293-312. 5. Cofield R. H. Status of total shoulder arthroplasty. Arch. Surg., 1977, 112, 1088-1091. 6. Favard L., Nové Josserand L., Levigne C., Boileau P., Walch G. Anatomical a...

Eighteen patients, referred from an outside institution with massive, irreparable rotator cuff tears and loss of elevation, were treated with a latissimus dorsi tendon transfer as a salvage procedure for failed, prior, attempted rotator cuff repair. Clinical outcomes were measured by the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeon's (ASES) score, pain level, and active range of motion. The average post...

We studied 54 patients operated on for combined supraspinatus and infraspinatus rotator-cuff tears. The presence or absence of the dropping and hornblower's clinical signs of impaired external rotation were correlated with Goutallier stage-3 or stage-4 fatty degeneration of infraspinatus and teres minor. These grades of fatty degeneration have previously been correlated with a poorer outcome fr...