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Rotator cuff repairs effective for recreational athletes 70 years of age and older
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ORLANDO, Fla. — Rotator cuff repair was found to be highly effective in elderly athletes ages 70 years and older, improving function, reducing pain and helping patients return to sports, according to study findings presented here.
Peter J. Millet
“The baby boomers are getting older and staying active later,” Peter J. Millet, MD, MSc, told Healio.com/Orthopedics. “They are ‘young at heart,’ and many do not see themselves as old and sedentary. Unfortunately, many older patients develop rotator cuff tears that cause significant pain, limit function, cause difficulty with sleep and create limits in the sports they enjoy.”
Millet and colleagues retrospectively reviewed prospectively obtained data for 44 patients (49 shoulders) 70 years and older who underwent primary or revision arthroscopic repair of full-thickness supraspinatus tears between December 2005 and November 2012. The mean follow-up period was 3.6 years. Data collected included demographics, surgical data, and acromion-humeral distance and Goutallier classification for fatty infiltration.
The researchers also collected pre- and postoperative American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES), Single Assessment Numeric Evaluation (SANE), QuickDASH and SF-12 scores.
At the final follow-up, patient satisfaction and reasons for activity modification data were also collected.
Patients had a mean acromion-humeral distance of 9.2 mm. Among the 49 shoulders studied, four were revision rotator cuff repairs, 28 shoulders had two tendons with full-thickness tears and one shoulder had three tendons with full-thickness tears. All patients were given a Goutallier classification of either 2 or below.
“The benefit of our study is that it shows that older patients do benefit from arthroscopic rotator cuff repair surgery, rotator cuff repair effectively eliminates pain, rotator cuff repair effectively restored function, and older patients can and do return to sports after rotator cuff surgery,” Millet said. “We had about 75% of patients get back to the same level or a higher level of sports after surgery, and these patients did not have to have shoulder replacement surgery.”
According to the researchers, none of the patients needed revision rotator cuff repair; however, one patient needed surgery for stiffness. When compared with preoperative baseline measurements, all postoperative outcomes measured showed significant improvement. ASES scores improved from 56 preoperatively to 90.3 postoperatively, significantly improving in both pain and functional components.
The SANE scores (63.1 vs. 85.1), QuickDASH scores (34.1 vs. 11.3) and SF-12 PCF scores (43 vs. 51.6) had also improved from baseline to postoperative follow-up. Impact on pain affecting activities of daily living, recreational sporting activities and sleeping had significantly improved, as well, according to the researchers. – by Monica Jaramillo
Reference:
Millet, et al. Paper #42. Presented at: American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine Annual Meeting; July 7-12, 2015; Orlando, Fla.
Disclosure: Millet reports he receives royalties and is a paid consultant for Arthrex, Inc., paid consultant for MYOS Corporation, has stock in Game Ready and VuMedi, and receives research support from Arthrex, Inc., Össur, Siemens, and Smith & Nephew. Please see the full study for a list of all other authors’ relevant financial disclosures.