Rotator cuff tears: the role of surgery.

The indications for operative intervention in patients with rotator cuff tears and the reasonable expectations of such surgery are not well defined. This retrospective study of 37 such patients treated operatively at Ottawa General Hospital showed good results in 65% of cases. However, efforts to re-establish continuity of the cuff did not always result in a permanent cuff reconstruction. The persisting defect did not impede functional recovery as long as the edges of the tear were debrided along with division of the coracoacromial ligament, acromioplasty, or excision of osteophytes at the greater tuberosity. Impingement plays a major role in the disability associated with this condition.