VIDEO: Balloon spacer yields noninferior outcomes vs repair for massive rotator cuff tears
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SAN DIEGO — In this video from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting, Joseph A. Abboud, MD, FAAOS, speaks about massive rotator cuff repairs treated with a subacromial balloon spacer vs. partial repair.
The prospective, blinded, randomized, multicenter study, which had 24-month follow-up, comprised 93 patients treated arthroscopically with the InSpace subacromial balloon spacer (Stryker) vs. 91 patients who underwent partial repair of massive rotator cuff tears at 20 sites. The FDA cleared the implant for clinical use last month.
Among other inclusion criteria, patients needed an intact subscapularis, Abboud said.
“This was a noninferiority design, so we compared the balloon to the gold standard, which is a partial repair in this patient population. What we found is on most of the outcome measures, the balloon was noninferior and, in several areas, the balloon was superior, specifically looking at the range of motion at 2-years outcomes in these patients, as well,” Abboud said.