• Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.144-151
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• 2020

Background: This study was designed to evaluate characters of the rotator cuff tear (RCT) recognized after primary shoulder dislocation in patients older than 40. Methods: From 2008 to 2019, patients who visited two hospitals after dislocation were retrospectively reviewed. Inclusion criteria were patients over 40 who had dislocation, with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) undergone. Exclusion criteria were patients who lost to follow-up, combined with any proximal humerus fracture, brachial plexus injury, and previous operation or dislocation history in the ipsilateral shoulder. Also patients who had only bankart or bony bakart lesion in MRI were excluded. We evaluated RCTs that were recognized by MRI after the primary shoulder dislocation with regard to tear size, degree, involved tendons, fatty degeneration, the age when the first dislocation occurred, and the duration until the MRI was evaluated after the dislocation. Results: Fifty-five RCTs were included. According to age groups, the tear size was increased in coronal and sagittal direction, the number of involved tendons was increased, and the degree of fatty degeneration was advanced in infraspinatus muscle. Thirty-two cases (58.2%) conducted MRI after 3 weeks from the first shoulder dislocation event. This group showed that the retraction size of the coronal plane was increased significantly and the fatty accumulation of the supraspinatus muscle had progressed significantly. Conclusions: Age is also a strong factor to affect the feature of RCT after the shoulder dislocation in patients over 40. And the delay of the MRI may deteriorate the degree of tear size and fatty degeneration.

• Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.30-36
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• 2018

Background: The Korean Shoulder Scoring System (KSS) is a reliable and valid procedure for discriminative assessment of the clinical status of patients with rotator cuff tears. This study evaluates the correlation between the preoperative KSS and factors in patients with rotator cuff tears. Methods: From November 2009 to June 2016, 970 patients who underwent arthroscopic rotator cuff repair were retrospectively evaluated. A total of 490 patients met the study criteria. Preoperative factors included age, sex, symptom duration, mediolateral (ML) and anteroposterior (AP) tear size, acromiohumeral distance (AHD), tangent sign, tendon involvement (type I, supraspinatus; type II, supraspinatus and subscapularis; type III, supraspinatus and infraspinatus; type IV, all 3 tendons), fatty infiltration of rotator cuff muscles (group I, Goutallier stages 0 and 1; group II, Goutallier stages 2, 3, and 4), and KSS. Results: Old age, ML tear size, and AP tear size negatively correlated with the preoperative KSS (p<0.001). AHD showed a positive correlation with the preoperative KSS (p<0.001). A significantly inferior preoperative KSS was found in females and type III tendon involvement (p<0.001). For supraspinatus and infraspinatus, the preoperative KSS of group II fatty infiltration showed a significantly lower score than group I fatty infiltration (p<0.05). Conclusions: A relatively lower preoperative KSS was associated with old age, large tear size, narrow AHD, female, type III tendon involvement, and group II fatty infiltration of the supraspinatus and infraspinatus. Our study indicates that preoperative KSS can be a good measurement for the preoperative status of patients with rotator cuff tears.

• Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.112-120
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• 2022

Background: The prognostic factors for patients with full-thickness rotator cuff tears (RCTs) include tear size, muscle atrophy and fatty infiltration. However, the influence of early coexisting degenerative changes on RCT outcomes is unappreciated. The purpose of this study was to calculate the impact that pre-existing partial glenohumeral cartilaginous changes have on patients undergoing arthroscopic RCT repair. Methods: A study of 54 patients undergoing arthroscopic RCT repair was undertaken. The presence of co-existing patches of glenohumeral degenerative cartilaginous changes and RCT size was recorded at surgery. Pre- and postoperative outcomes were assessed using traditional (Oxford Shoulder Score [OSS], 5-level EuroQol-5D [EQ-5D-5L] questionnaire and EuroQol visual analog scale [EQ-VAS]) and patient-centric re-formatted prisms. Outcomes were assessed as an entire dataset, and sub-group analysis was performed according to the grade of co-existing arthritis and tear size. Results: Significant improvements (p<0.05) in clinical outcomes were recognized when assessed using either the traditional or reformatted prisms (average % improvements in OSS, EQ-5D-5L and EQ-VAS were 47%, 33% and 43%, respectively; average improvements in pain, function, and psychological well-being were 48%, 33% and, 29%, respectively). Positive gain was noted in all sub-groups of arthritic grading and tear size. Conclusions: Good clinical outcomes can be achieved following RCT repair even in the presence of local partial degenerative cartilage changes and advancing tear size. These benefits are patient-centered but require RCT repairability.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.68-78
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• 1996

A study of the natural vibraion of Timoshenko beam with a laminar tear is presented. An analytic model, based on the transverse and longitudinal vibration of beams is employed to determine the natural frequencies. A specific example are given to show the effects of rotary inertia, and shear deformation on the natural frequencies of the beam with a laminar tear. the variations of matural frequencies of beam with the changes of size and location of laminar tear are plotted for several thickness ratio.

• Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.93-98
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• 1999

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze the prognostic factors for arthroscopic subacromial decompres­sion and rotator cuff debridement in impingement syndrome. Materials and Methods : Arthroscopic subacromial decompression with or without rotator cuff debridement was performed in 46 cases of 44 consecutive patients with either stage n or stage ill impingement syndrome. The patients were classified by Neer's stage and size of tear according to the criteria of Cofield. The results were assessed with UCLA rating scale. We used repeated measures ANOVA and Chi-square test to assess correlation between the results and six variables including stage, rotator cuff tear size, age at the operation, duration of symptom, throwing sports activity, and trauma history. The follow-up period averaged 53 months(range, 27 to 92 months). Results: Lower stage by Neer's stage was correlated with higher postoperative scores and with significant difference between preoperative and postoperative scores of UCLA rating scale. However, other factors did not show significant influence upon the results. The patients with complete rotator cuff who showed satisfactory results after procedures were older and had shorter symptom duration, small cuff size. Conclusions : In patients with impingement syndrome treated by arthroscopic debridement and subacromial decompression, superior results were obtained when belonged to a lower Neer stage and when the rotator cuff was only partially tom. In cases with complete rotator cuff tear, higher success rates were obtained with smaller tear sizes. Age at operation, duration of symptoms, throwing athlete, traumatic tear did not affect the results.

• 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.20 no.3
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• pp.133-137
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• 2017

Background: To determine the natural progression of conservatively treated rotator cuff tears, we evaluated changes in radiologic and clinical parameters in patients whose recalcitrant tears were neglected after conservative treatment. Methods: A total of 73 patients with recalcitrant rotator cuff tears in spite of conservative treatment were included in this study. We measured changes in tear size and in the extent of fatty infiltration of the rotator cuff by comparing the initial and final follow-up magnetic resonance imagings (MRIs). To determine factors influencing the change in tear size, we collected the medical history of patients taken at the time of initial admission. Results: The average follow-up period was 20.1 months, and the average increase in tear size across this period was 6.2 mm. In terms of steroid injection, we found that the increases in tear size of the steroid injection group (p=0.049) and of the sub-group that had received more than three steroid injections (p=0.010) were significantly greater than that of the non-steroid injection group. Conclusions: We found that the increase in cuff tear size was on average 6.2 mm across the follow-up period, indicating that neglecting cuff tears may cause them to progress into more severe tears. We also observed that a history of steroid injection might be a possible risk factor for a worse prognosis of cuff tears. Therefore, we suggest that patients with rotator cuff tears and a history of steroid injection are recommended aggressive modes of treatment such as surgery.

• Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.128-134
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• 2019

Background: Patients with rotator cuff tears are usually afflicted with shoulder pain and disability. However, it is unclear which factors are related to shoulder pain in patients with rotator cuff tears. This study was therefore undertaken to determine the factors correlated with shoulder pain in patients with painful rotator cuff tears, but without any history of trauma. Methods: We evaluated a cohort of 745 patients with painful rotator cuff tears having no trauma history, and analyzed the relationship between pain and multiple factors including demographic data, tear characteristics, and passive range of motion. Pain was analyzed with a questionnaire concerning the visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain. Tear characteristics were determined by evaluating tear size, muscle atrophy, number of torn tendons, and presence of arthritis. Multivariate linear regression analysis and chi-squared test were applied to evaluate the relationship between the VAS for pain and variable factors. Results: Shoulder pain was associated with young age (p=0.01), male sex (p=0.01) and the presence of diabetes mellitus (p<0.001). Measurements of rotator cuff tear characteristics including tear size (p=0.53), muscle atrophy (p=0.16) and the number of torn tendons (p=0.34) did not correlate with shoulder pain. Symptom duration (p=0.60) and range of motion (p>0.05) also showed no correlation with VAS for pain. Conclusions: Young age, male sex and the presence of diabetes mellitus correlated positively with preoperative shoulder pain in patients with painful rotator cuff tears without a trauma history. Combined treatment of pain management and risk factor correction could be helpful to control preoperative shoulder pain.

• Journal of the Korean Arthroscopy Society
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.98-103
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• 2012

The repair technique of rotator cuff tear has been markedly developed in recent years. When the natural history of rotator cuff tear was followed, the size of rotator cuff tear increased with time. The fatty infiltration which would come at the later period of rotator cuff tear and the rotator cuff tear arthropathy which would be occurred after massive rotator cuff tear may be the important factors in predicting the prognosis of rotator cuff tear or determining the timing of surgery. Because moderate supraspinatus fatty infiltration appeared an average of 3 years after onset of symptoms, the repair of rotator cuff tear was recommended to be performed before that. And if there was massive rotator cuff tear with cuff tear arthropathy, it was recommended that the rotator cuff repair should be performed before the occurrence of the narrowing of acromiohumeral interval. The techniques of arthroscopic rotator cuff repair were mainly the single row repair and the double row repair. The former is good in view of time consuming and cost, but the latter is superior in view of biomechanics. To maintain the benefit in biomechanics of double row technique and reduce the time of surgery, the suture-bridge technique was invented and widely used recently. There are several modified techniques in arthroscopic suture-bridge technique according to the characteristics of rotator cuff tear.

• Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.42-49
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• 2007

Purpose: To compare the thickness of the repaired full-thickness rotator-cuff tear to that of normal rotator-cuff in young and old persons and evaluate the relationship between the tear size and the repaired thickness in the full-thickness tear using MRI. Materials and Methods: The thickness of the rotator-cuff of the repaired full thickness tear(age: $45{\sim}77$, mean 63.3 years, 19 patients: group 1) were compared with those of old intact patients(age: $46{\sim}69$, mean 57.9 years, 23 patients: group 2) and young intact patients (age: $18{\sim}30$, mean 23.3 years, 22 patients: group 3). The tear length and width was measured in oblique coronal and oblique sagittal view of MRA, respectively, and the thickness was measured in coronal oblique view 15mm anterior to the posterolateral margin of the glenoid. Correlation between the preoperative tear size (the bigger one between the length and the width) and the postoperative thickness in group 1 was also evaluated statistically. Results: The postoperative rotator-cuff thickness in group 1 was 3.0 mm in average, which was inversely proportional to the preoperative tear size (P<0.001). The rotator-cuff thickness was 3.9mm in group 2 and 5.0mm in group 3, and there was statistically significant difference among the three groups(P<0.05). Conclusion: The rotator-cuff thickness decreases with age and the postoperative thickness in the full-thickness tear was inversely proportional to the tear size, smaller than that of the intact rotator-cuff.