Study: Rotator cuff repair not as successful two years after surgery

The functional and clinical improvements for patients who undergo revision arthroscopic rotator cuff repair surgery do not last as long when compared to patients who have first-time surgery, according to research presented at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine Specialty Day.

“Further studies are needed to identify ways to improve long-term outcomes following revision arthroscopic rotator cuff surgery. However, our results do highlight the long-term success of primary rotator cuff surgery and may help patients understand the realistic expectation of the outcomes of revision arthroscopic rotator cuff surgeries,” Aminudin Mohamed Shamsudin, MD, stated in a press release.

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Researchers from the Orthopaedic Research Institute in Sydney, conducted a retrospective review of 350 (300 primary, 50 revision) arthroscopic rotator cuff repairs with standardized patient-ranked outcomes, examiner-determined assessments and ultrasound-determined rotator cuff integrity evaluated preoperatively, at 6 months and 2 years postoperatively.

The re-tear rate for the primary rotator cuff repair cohort was 16% at 6 months and 21% at final follow-up. Patients in the revision cohort showed a 28% re-tear rate at 6 months, a rate that increased to 40% at final follow-up. At 2 years postoperatively, the primary cohort reported less pain at rest, during sleep and with overhead activity compared with the revision group. At final follow-up, patients who had a primary cuff repair had better forward flexion (+13°), abduction (+18°), internal rotation (+2 vertebral levels), greater strength, lift-off strength and adduction strength when compared to the patients in the revision group.

Reference:

Shamsudin A. Paper #16. Presented at: American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine Specialty Day; March 15, 2014; New Orleans.

Disclosure: Shamsudin has no relevant financial disclosures.