Results from Arthroscopic Repair of Isolated Tears of the Subscapularis Tendon

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the functional and clinical outcomes and identify prognostic factors in patients undergoing arthroscopic repair of isolated tears of the subscapularis tendon. METHODS Between January 2003 and May 2009, we identified 18 shoulders with isolated tears or deinsertions that were complete or affected at least one third of the subscapularis tendon and underwent arthroscopic repair. RESULTS Three shoulders (17%) showed lesions in the upper third of the subscapularis; nine shoulders (50%) showed lesions in the upper two thirds; and six shoulders (33%) presented complete tears. In comparing the range of lateral rotation of the injured shoulder between before surgery and the time of the reevaluation, there was no statistical difference (p = 0.091). The LHBT was damaged in 11 shoulders (61%). According to the Constant score validation, we had excellent and good results in 83% of the cases and 17% were reasonable. The reevaluations on three patients showed re-tearing on MRI. Acromioplasty was performed on ten patients and this procedure did not represent statistical differences in the final results (p = 0.57). CONCLUSIONS There was no statistically significant difference in relation to preoperative lateral rotation between the injured shoulder and the contralateral side. There was no significant loss of lateral rotation after surgery. The LHBT may be normal in deinsertions of the subscapularis tendon. Acromioplasty did not influence the results. The re-tearing rate for arthroscopic repair of the subscapularis tendon was 16.6%.