The Subscapularis Healing Index: A New Scoring System for Predicting Subscapularis Healing After Arthroscopic Repair.

BACKGROUND: Previous research has emphasized the effect of prognostic factors on arthroscopic rotator cuff repair (ARCR) success, but a specific focus on subscapularis (SSC) tendon repair healing is lacking. PURPOSE: To identify prognostic factors for SSC healing after ARCR and develop the Subscapularis Healing Index (SSC-HI) by incorporating these factors. STUDY DESIGN: Case-control study; Level of evidence, 3. METHODS: This was a retrospective study using prospectively maintained data collected from patients with isolated or combined SSC tears who underwent ARCR between 2011 and 2021 at a single institution with a minimum 2-year follow-up. Functional outcomes were assessed using the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) score, Subjective Shoulder Value (SSV), and visual analog scale (VAS) pain scale. SSC tendon healing was evaluated via ultrasound at the final follow-up. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the factors affecting SSC healing, and based on these factors, the SSC-HI, which ranges from 0 to 15 points, was developed using odds ratios (ORs). RESULTS: Among 1018 ARCR patients, 931 met the inclusion criteria; 279 returned voluntarily for postoperative SSC ultrasound assessment. The overall healing failure rate was 10.8% (30/279). Risk factors for healing failure included female sex (P = .008; OR, 3.119), body mass index (BMI) ≥30 (P = .053; OR, 2.323), supraspinatus fatty infiltration ≥3 (P = .033; OR, 3.211), lower SSC fatty infiltration ≥2 (P = .037; OR, 3.608), and Lafosse classification ≥3 (P = .007; OR, 3.224). A 15-point scoring system comprised the following: 3 points for female sex, 2 points for BMI ≥30, 3 points for supraspinatus fatty infiltration ≥3, 4 points for lower SSC fatty infiltration ≥2, and 3 points for Lafosse classification ≥3. Patients with ≤4 points had a 4% healing failure rate, while those with ≥9 points had a 55% rate of healing failure. Patients with a healed SSC reported significantly higher ASES (healed SSC: ΔASES, 44.7; unhealed SSC: ΔASES, 29; P < .01) and SSV (healed SSC: ΔSSV, 52.9; unhealed SSC: ΔSSV, 27.5; P < .01) and lower VAS (healed SSC: ΔVAS, -4.2; unhealed SSC: ΔVAS, -3; P < .01) scores compared with those with an unhealed SSC. CONCLUSION: The SSC-HI scoring system integrates clinical and radiological factors to predict SSC healing after surgical repair. Successful SSC healing was found to be associated with enhanced functional outcomes, underscoring the clinical relevance of SSC healing prediction in the management of these tears.

Editorial Commentary: It Is Imperative to Fix Symptomatic Hip Gluteus Medius Tears at Time of Femoroacetabular Impingement: Why Ignore This Pain in the Butt?

The hip can have a multitude of different pathologies leading to different symptoms. Greater trochanteric pain syndrome, historically attributed to bursitis, has been largely found to be associated with lesions of the gluteus medius and minimus tendons, and the prevalence of gluteus medius pathology in patients with femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) is as high as one-third of the FAI population. If a patient is found to have significant clinical symptoms of both FAI and a gluteus medius tear, it is imperative to fix both pathologies. The most important diagnostic predictor in hip arthroscopy is not magnetic resonance imaging but a well-executed history and physical exam. We use a quadrant approach: the medial quadrant accounts for adductor bursitis, adductor tears, pudendal neuralgia, or sports hernias. The posterior quadrant may account for a hamstring tear, lumbar radiculopathy, ischiofemoral impingement, or in rare cases piriformis syndrome. The anterior quadrant accounts for more intraarticular pathologies including FAI, Labral tears, osteoarthritis, avascular necrosis, or iliopsoas bursitis. The lateral quadrant would include greater trochanteric pain syndrome, gluteus medius and minimus tears, external snapping hip syndrome and iliotibial band syndrome. By using this systematic approach and using the magnetic resonance imaging to confirm the diagnosis, we may accurately determine patients' hip pathologies.