Mini-deltoid splitting rotator cuff repair: do results deteriorate with time?

To determine whether the results of arthroscopically assisted rotator cuff repair deteriorate with time, 60 shoulders were evaluated on 2 separate occasions. There were 7 small, 16 medium, 20 large, and 17 massive tears. Patients were evaluated with a detailed questionnaire that included the UCLA shoulder scale and physical examination. Average initial follow-up was at 21 months (range, 12 to 68 months), and the second follow-up was at an average of 62 months (range, 24 to 103 months); only 4 patients had a change of more than 3 points on the UCLA scoring scale. No statistically significant difference was found in pain, function, range of motion, strength score, satisfactory results (80% on both occasions), and UCLA score (30.8 v 31.4) at second follow-up. The results of our study indicate that there is no significant deterioration over time of results of rotator cuff repair using the mini-deltoid splitting technique.