Long-term functional evaluation of videoarthroscopic treatment of partial injuries of the rotator cuff☆

OBJECTIVE To compare the functional results from high and low-grade isolated partial lesions of the supraspinatus tendon of bursal and articular types, after arthroscopic treatment. METHODS Sixty-four patients with isolated partial lesions of the supraspinatus tendon were evaluated. The mean length of follow-up was 76 months (range: 29-193). The mean age was 59 years (range: 36-82). The dominant side was affected in 44 patients (68.8%). There were 35 bursal lesions (54.7%) and 29 articular lesions (45.3%). We used the Ellman classification and characterized the lesions as low or high-grade according to whether they affected less than or more than 50% of the tendon thickness, respectively. Debridement was performed in 15 patients (23.5%), repair without completing the lesion in 11 (17%) and repair after completing the lesion in 38 (59.5%). The functional assessments on the patients were done using the Constant & Murley and UCLA scores. RESULTS The mean Constant & Murley score among the patients with bursal lesions was 82.64 ± 6.98 (range: 59.3-99) and among those with articular lesions, 83.57 ± 7.58 (range: 66-95), while the mean UCLA score in the bursal lesions was 33.37 ± 2.85 (range: 21-35) and in the articular lesions, 32.83 ± 2.95 (range: 22-35). CONCLUSION Videoarthroscopic treatment of partial lesions of the rotator cuff presents good or excellent results when the low-grade lesions are debrided and the high-grade lesions are completed and repaired. These results are maintained over the long term, with a high satisfaction rate and few complications.