Arthroscopic removal of the impinging acromio-clavicular joint spur

ABSTRACT

29 patients with impingement syndrome of the shoulder were studied between January 2005 and February 2006. Main cause of impingement of the supraspinatus tendon was undersurface spurs of the acromioclavicular joint, as demonstrated on X-rays and essentially coronal cuts of MRI. Arthroscopic subacromial decompression together with shaving of the undersurface acromioclavicular joint spurs was performed for all patients. Results were evaluated according to UCLA rating score at an average of 15 months, which, was raised at an average of 50 points. We conclude that pre-operative evaluation of exact cause of impingement syndrome is essential as well as removal of offending cause at arthroscopy