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Advantages in rotator cuff repair seen in both single and double row treatments
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Surgical procedures for rotator cuff repair can be difficult and time consuming to perform and may be associated with a steep learning curve. According to some shoulder surgeons, the trend today is toward arthroscopic techniques for rotator cuff repair and away from mini-open and open procedures. Despite the approach used, often the surgeon must determine, when indicated, whether repair with a single row or a double row is appropriate for the type of rotator cuff tear being treated.
Emilio Calvo, MD, PhD, MBA, of Madrid, sees the surgical trend in this area moving toward double-row repair, especially for large rotator cuff tears. He said by far the majority of rotator cuff surgeries today are performed arthroscopically, as opposed to when the surgery was first developed in the 1980s.
“Now, I would say 80% of the cases throughout the world are doing this surgery with arthroscopic surgery, and open surgery only for very difficult cases with severe tendon retraction,” Calvo told Orthopaedics Today Europe. According to Calvo, the ideal situation in which arthroscopic rotator cuff repair is performed is when the physician specializes in shoulder surgery or sports medicine.
Click here to read the full story in the February issue of Orthopaedics Today Europe.