Rotator cuff injuries are common in both young and elderly patients. Despite improvements in instrumentation and surgical techniques, the failure rates following tendon reconstruction remain unacceptably high. To improve outcomes, graft patches have been developed to provide mechanical strength and to furnish a scaffold for biologic growth across the delicate tendon-bone junction. Although no p...

HYPOTHESIS Recent studies have demonstrated a potentially critical role of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and tissue inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases (TIMPs) in the pathophysiology of rotator cuff tears. We hypothesize that local delivery of a MMP inhibitor after surgical repair of the rotator cuff will improve healing at the tendon-to-bone surface interface. MATERIALS AND METHODS Si...

PURPOSE To evaluate outcomes of arthroscopic rotator cuff repair in patients aged 70 years or older. METHODS We identified 44 consecutive patients aged 70 years or older undergoing primary all-arthroscopic repair of symptomatic full-thickness tears of the rotator cuff. A minimum 2-year follow-up was performed by an independent examiner including range of motion and dynamometer strength testin...

INTRODUCTION: Rotator cuff tears are a common condition, affecting approximately 50% of the population over the age of 60 [1]. The etiology of rotator cuff tears is not well understood, but it is widely believed that abnormal glenohumeral joint (GHJ) motion leads to subacromial impingement and the development of rotator cuff tears [2]. The treatment of rotator cuff tears is based implicitly on ...

Optimum rehabilitation following Rotator Cuff Repair (RCR) remains a contentious topic. A wide range of often conflicting evidence and opinion exists regarding several aspects the rehabilitation...

Despite clinical success rates over 85%, persistent anatomic defects after rotator cuff repair are common and depend on the size of the tear repaired. The etiology of delayed or failed tendon to bone healing is multifactorial and biologic augmentation of a rotator cuff repair would be clinically desirable. Autogenous platelets contain many growth factors and are critical in the physiology of bo...

Purpose: To introduce mini-open rotator cuff repair using the anterolateral approach and evaluate its clinical outcomes and effectiveness. Materials and Methods: 59 consecutive cases of rotator cuff tearing which were treated with mini-open repair utilizing the anterolateral approach were evaluated. The population comprised 39 men and 20 women, with an average age of 56.6 years. An average foll...

Rotator cuff tears in young overhead sports athletes are rare. The pathomechanism causing rotator cuff tears in young overhead athletes is different from that in aged patients. The purpose of this study was to investigate rotator cuff tear characteristics in young overhead sports athletes to reveal the pathomechanism causing these injuries. This study included 25 overhead sports athletes less t...

BACKGROUND Several meta-analyses of randomized clinical trials have been performed to analyze whether double-row (DR) rotator cuff repair (RCR) provides superior clinical outcomes and structural healing compared to single-row (SR) repair. The purpose of this study was to sum up the results of meta-analysis comparing SR and DR repair with respect on clinical outcomes and re-tear rates. METHODS...

BACKGROUND Pathology of the soft tissues of the shoulder including the musculotendinous rotator cuff and subacromial bursa are extremely common and are a principal cause of pain and suffering. Competing theories have been proposed to explain the pathoaetiology of rotator cuff pathology at specific stages and presentations of the condition. This review proposes a model to describe the continuum ...