Arthroscopic rotator cuff repair using suture bridge technique as treatment of traumatic shoulder dislocation combined with rotator cuff injury in older patients / 中国内镜杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To compare the clinical results of arthroscopic rotator cuff repair using a suture bridge technique and conservative therapy as treatment of traumatic shoulder dislocation combined with rotator cuff injury in older patients. Methods From August 2010 to August 2013 a total of 63 patients were prospectively enrolled. In the case of documented tears of the rotator cuff in combination with symptoms persisting after conservative therapy, patients were free to decide between arthroscopic rotator cuff repair using a suture bridge technique and conservative treatment. Patients were monitored for changes in visual analogue scale (VAS) scores, range of motion, the Simple Shoulder Test (SST), the Constant score and recurrences over a minimum follow-up period of 1 year. Results 60 pa-tients (30 in surgical group and 30 in conservative treatment group) were follow-up for at least 1 year. There was no significant difference between the two groups at baseline. The surgical group resulted in better improvements in pre-operative to postoperative VAS scores, range of motion, SST scores and the Constant score. There were five recur-rences in the conservative treatment group, while no recurrences were documented in surgical group. Conclusion In this selected patient group, we believe arthroscopic repair using a suture bridge technique for the treatment of symp-tomatic rotator cuff tear can improve shoulder function and decrease recurrences in older patients suffered from trau-matic shoulder dislocation combined with rotator cuff injury. The long-term outcomes remain to be determined.