• Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.209-217
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• 2014

Most studies on the pathophysiology, natural history, diagnosis by imaging and outcomes after operative or nonoperative treatment of rotator cuff tear have focused on those of full-thickness tears, resulting in limited knowledge of partial-thickness rotator cuff tears. However, a partial-thickness tear of the rotator cuff is a common disorder and can be the cause of persistent pain and dysfunction of the shoulder joint in the affected patients. Recent updates in the literatures shows that the partial-thickness tears are not merely mild form of full-thickness tears. Over the last decades, an improved knowledge of pathophysiology and surgical techniques of partial-thickness tears has led to more understanding of the significance of this tear and better outcomes. In this review, we discuss the current concept of management for partial-thickness tears in terms of the pathogenesis, natural history, nonoperative treatment, and surgical outcomes associated with the commonly used repair techniques.

• Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.114-121
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• 2021

Irreparable massive rotator cuff tears cause pain, loss of function, and a decrease in range of motion, which cause serious disturbances in daily life. Young patients, in particular, are active and have relatively high functional requirements, and their surgical options are limited. Superior capsular reconstruction (SCR) was first proposed for irreparable massive rotator cuff tears, good clinical results have been reported in short-term follow up. Since then, SCR has been used increasingly worldwide for irreparable massive rotator cuff tears, and various studies have been published on clinical outcomes, biomechanical outcomes, surgical techniques, and graft types. This article reviews the optimal graft and surgical options for improving clinical outcomes in SCR.

• Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.159-170
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• 2019

Delaminated rotator cuff tear pertains to the horizontal split of the tendon substance. As reported previously, the presence of a delaminated tear and incidence of delaminated rotator cuff tear ranges from 38% to 92%. The different strain intensities applied across the rotator cuff tendon, and the shear stress between the bursal and articular layers seem to play a role in its pathogenesis. In a delaminated rotator cuff tear, the degree and direction of retraction between two layers differ, with accompanying intrasubstance cleavage. A surgeon therefore needs to consider and carefully evaluate the tear characteristics when repairing delaminated rotator cuff tear. Delaminated rotator cuff tear is considered to be a poor prognostic factor after rotator cuff repair, but numerous surgical repair techniques have been introduced and applied to resolve this problem. Recent literature has reported good clinical outcomes after delaminated rotator cuff repair.

• Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.212-218
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• 2024

Background: Rotator cuff tears commonly cause shoulder pain and functional impairment, prompting surgical intervention such as mini-open and arthroscopic methods, each with distinct benefits. This study aimed to compare the clinical outcomes and complications of these two approaches. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 165 patients who underwent rotator cuff repair using either arthroscopic-assisted mini-open or full arthroscopic approaches. Patient demographics, tear characteristics, clinical outcomes, and complications were assessed, with statistical analyses conducted to discern differences between the groups. Results: Among the patients, 74 (53.2%) received the mini-open approach, while 65 (46.8%) underwent arthroscopic repair, with a mean follow-up of 19.91 months. The mini-open group exhibited significantly higher postoperative American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) scores compared to the arthroscopic group (P=0.002). Additionally, the mini-open group demonstrated a more significant improvement in ASES scores from preoperative to postoperative assessments (P=0.001). However, the arthroscopic method had a significantly longer operative time (P<0.001). Complications, including anchor placement issues, frozen shoulder, infection, and re-rupture, occurred in 17.3% of patients overall. Re-rupture rates were 13.5% for mini-open and 6.2% for full arthroscopic repair, with no significant difference between the two methods (P=0.317). Conclusions: Both the mini-open and arthroscopic methods yielded favorable clinical outcomes for rotator cuff tear treatment, but the mini-open group exhibited superior results. Surgeons should consider patient characteristics, tear attributes, and surgical expertise when selecting the appropriate technique.

• Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.153-162
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• 2013

The arthroscopic bony procedures during rotator cuff repair include acromioplasty, distal clavicle resection, footprint preparation and coracoplasty. The indication of each bony procedure is based on the theoretical reasons, and various types of surgical techniques are available. The purpose of this review article is to review the backgrounds of the indication and surgical techniques in the arthroscopic bony procedures during rotator cuff repair.

• Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.105-112
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• 2017

Rotator cuff tears commonly affect the shoulder joints. Despite developments in surgical techniques and instrumentation, the treatment of massive rotator cuff tears remains challenging. The problems associated with rotator cuff repairs, such as inferior mechanical properties and high retear rates are yet to be solved. Recently, patch augmentation has been suggested as an alternative treatment because it can reinforce mechanical properties at the initial stage of healing and reduce gap formation. The purpose of this article was to comprehensively summarize the concepts and the consensus surrounding patch augmentation and evaluate the clinical and anatomical outcomes after patch augmentation for massive rotator cuff tears.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.154-164
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• 2020

Various simulator systems for surgery training have been developed and recently become more widely utilized with technology advancement and change in medical education adopting actively simulation-based training. The authors have developed tissue-instrument interaction modeling and graphical simulation algorithms for an arthroscopic surgery training simulator system. In this paper, we propose algorithms for basic surgical techniques, such as cutting, shaving, drilling, grasping, suturing and knot tying for rotator cuff surgery. The proposed method constructs a virtual 3-dimensional model from actual patient data and implements a real-time deformation of the surgical object model through interaction between ten types of arthroscopic surgical tools and a surgical object model. The implementation is based on the Simulation Open Framework Architecture (SOFA, Inria Foundation, France) and custom algorithms were implemented as pulg-in codes. Qualitative review of the developed results by physicians showed both feasibility and limitations of the system for actual use in surgery training.

• Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.176-180
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• 2006

Purpose: Although surgical arthroscopic repair of rotator cuff has become much more common as surgeons have developed proficient techniques, it is still technically difficult. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical results and the usefulness of mini-open repair in large and massive size tears. Materials & Methods: From January 2000 to December 2004, sixteen patients were treated with mini-open repair. There were 10 male and 6 female patients with the average age of 62.5 years. The size of tear was massive in 4 cases and large in 12 cases. All tears were repaired with metal anchor sutures. The mean duration of follow-up period was 23 months. Postoperative results were evaluated based on American Shoulder and Elbow Society scoring system. Results: Five patients showed excellent results, five good, and two fair in large tears while one patient showed excellent result, one good, and two fair in massive tears. Poor outcome was not seen during the follow-up period. There was no significant relationship between the patient's age and the size of tear, and postoperative results. However, the relationship between the duration of symptomatic period in preoperation and postoperative results showed significant correlation. Conclusion: Mini-open repair combined with the preservation of deltoid and early rehabilitation is clinically useful in large and massive size rotator cuff tear patients treatment.

• Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.77-81
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• 2008

The goal of rotator cuff repairs is to achieve high initial fixation strength, minimize gap formation, maintain mechanical stability under cyclic loading and optimize the biology of the tendon-bone interface until the cuff heals biologically to the bone. Single row repairs are least successful in restoring the footprint of the rotator cuff and are most susceptible to gap formation. Double row repairs have an improved load to failure and minimal gap formation. Transosseous equivalent repairs (suture bridge technique) have the highest ultimate load and resistance to shear and rotational forces and the lowest gap formation. Even though the superior advantages of double row and transosseous equivalent repairs, those techniques take longer surgical time and are more expensive than single row repairs. Therefore single row repairs can be useful in bursal side partial thickness or small size full thickess rotator cuff tear.

• Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.167-174
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• 2010

Purpose: Anatomical repair of massive rotator cuff tear has been technically challenging because of medial retraction, muscle atrophy and fatty degeneration. Among several treatment options for massive rotator cuff tear, we reviewed rotator cuff repairs and investigated modalities for improvement of clinical outcomes, decreasing the re-tear rate, and increasing healing. Materials and Methods: Patient-related factors and rotator cuff-related factors were the two major groups of factors we considered when choosing a treatment plan. Results: Mobilization of a massive rotator cuff tear was increased by soft tissue release and by the interval slide technique. After meticulous soft tissue release, anatomical repair could be achieved. If the injury was not amenable to anatomical repair, alternative treatment options such as partial repair, the margin convergence technique and augmentation with a tenotomized biceps tendon were considered. Many reports of massive rotator cuff repair demonstrated satisfactory clinical outcomes, decreased pain, recovery of shoulder functions, and increases in muscle strength. However, the re-tear rate had been reported to be relatively high in long-term follow-up. Conclusion: Despite a high re-tear rate after massive rotator cuff repair, a better understanding of the pathogenesis, progression and clinical symptoms of massive rotator cuff tear and improved surgical materials and techniques will lead to satisfactory clinical outcomes.