Arthroscopic Treatment of Chronic Calcific Tendinitis of the Shoulder

견관절 만성 석회화 건염의 관절경적 치료

Shoulder is a common site for calcific deposit and is frequently asymptomatic. There is a general agreement that calcific tendinitis should be initially treated nonoperatively and excision reserved for cases unresponsive to the conservative measures. There are several reports that arthroscopic excision of symptomatic calcific deposit is proved to be efficient in the calcific tendinitis refractory to nonoperative management. The results of arthroscopic treatment of chronic resistant calcific tendinitis of the shoulder in eleven patients were evaluated. Each patient had shoulder pain for more than one year prior to the arthroscopic surgery. The average age of the patients was 48 years(range 35-70). Arthroscopic calcium removal and subacromial bursectomy was performed in all patients. Arthroscopic acromioplasty was additionally done in four patients. The results turned out to be good in nine patients with full range of motion and complete pain relief. One patient with full motion and occcasional episodes of pain was satisfactory. One patient with persistent pain was unsatisfactory which converted to satisfactory six months later after subacromial injection. So we conclude that the arthroscopic treatment is a reasonable alternative in treatment of the chronic calcific tendinitis resistant to conservative treatment.