Arthroscopic Repair of Massive Rotator Cuff Tears Leads to Functional Improvement in Most Patients at 4-Year Follow-up.

PURPOSE

To assess functional outcomes and healing 4 years after arthroscopic repair of massive rotator cuff tears (MRCTs).

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective study of patients who underwent arthroscopic rotator cuff repair of an MRCT-defined as a complete 2-tendon tear or a tear greater than 5 cm in any dimension-performed by 2 surgeons at different institutions between January 2015 and December 2018. At a minimum of 4 years postoperatively, patient-reported outcomes collected included the visual analog scale pain score, American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) score, Veterans RAND 12 (VR-12) score, and Subjective Shoulder Value (SSV) score. Repair technique and concomitant procedures were also gathered. Tendon healing was evaluated via ultrasound at final follow-up.

RESULTS

Functional outcomes were available for 101 patients at a mean of 63.6 ± 8.8 months (range, 48-82 months) postoperatively. Mean ASES scores improved from 40.1 to 78 ( < .001); VR-12 scores, from 37.1 to 47.7 ( < .001); and SSV scores, from 36.7 to 84.6 ( < .001). Forward flexion improved from 126° to 144° ( = .001), external rotation remained unchanged (from 47° to 44°,  = .268), and internal rotation improved by 2 spinal levels (from L4 to L2,  = .0001). Eighty-eight percent of patients (89 of 101) were satisfied with the procedure, and only 5% underwent reverse shoulder arthroplasty within the study period. Among the 39 patients who underwent postoperative ultrasound to assess healing, 56% showed complete tendon healing. There was no difference in healing or outcomes according to tear pattern. Additionally, tendon healing did not affect outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

Arthroscopic repair of MRCTs leads to functional improvements and patient satisfaction in most cases at 4-year follow-up. The rates of patients achieving the minimal clinically important difference were 77.5%, 87.6%, 59.7%, and 80.6% for the ASES score, SSV score, VR-12 score, and visual analog scale pain score, respectively. Complete tendon healing is difficult to achieve but does not appear to limit functional improvements.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Level IV, therapeutic case series.