Rotator Cuff Tears Description: radiate down the arm towards A rotator cuff tear is a the elbow and up towards the Arthroscopic Repair common cause of shoulder pain neck. Surgery is recommended and disability among adults. Diagnosis: when non-surgical treatments Normally there are 4 rotator cuff Your doctor will perform a have been tried. This tendons that form a covering comprehensive physical technique uses multiple small over the top of the shoulder. examination. Additional tests incisions (portals) and These tendons allow the shoulder may be performed to rule our arthroscopic technology to to move and rotate. Most tears other possible injuries. These visualize and repair the occur in the tests may include x-rays, bone rotator cuff. All-arthroscopic supraspinatus scanning, ultrasound, and repair is usually an outpatient tendon, but magnetic resonance imaging procedure. Suture anchors are other parts of (MRI). placed into the bone and used the rotator to re-attach the tendons to cuff may be Treatment: the bone. The results are involved. Your doctor may recommend comparable if not better than Overuse is the a brief period of anti- to those for mini-open repair most common inflammatory medication and and open repair. cause of tears, however a fall or activity modification. A course of Rehabilitation after surgery is sudden injury can also cause a rehabilitation may also be important. tear. helpful. Injection of a corticosteroid with a local Symptoms: anesthetic may alleviate the Pain often develops slowly symptoms. Anti-inflammatory over a period of time and may be medication should be used worse at night time or with cautiously as these medications overhead activities. An injury may have harmful side-effects. may cause acute pain. Pain may NATURAL HISTORY OF ROTATOR CUFF TEAR Forty percent of patient treated without surgery develop enlargement of the rotator cuff tear over a 5-year period of time. However, 20% of those will have no symptoms. Therefore, less than half of patients with tears with have enlargement but 80% of patients whose tears enlarge will develop symptoms. Small partial thickness tears may heal without surgery. OUTCOMES OF ROTATOR CUFF TEAR REPAIR Satisfaction rates are over 80-95% with improved range of motion and strength. Approximately 6-30% will have a re-tear of the repair, however many of these remain asymptomatic. Outcomes are improved with earlier repair, smaller tears, patient age, and patient compliance after surgery.

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