Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 24, 2026
Development of a Rabbit Chronic-Like Rotator Cuff Injury Model for Study of Fibrosis and Muscular Fatty Degeneration
Published on: March 31, 2023
Reliability of the grading system for fatty degeneration of rotator cuff muscles
Joo Han Oh1, Sae Hoon Kim, Jung-Ah Choi
1Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, 300 Gumi-dong, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Kyeonggi-do 463-707, Korea. ohjh1@snu.ac.kr
Unlabelled:
Fatty degeneration of the rotator cuff muscles is considered one of the most important factors for the outcomes of cuff repair. However, the reliability of the grading system is not well validated. Two specialists in musculoskeletal radiology and three shoulder fellowship-trained orthopaedic surgeons reviewed the fatty degeneration grades of each cuff muscle of consecutive 75 full-thickness cuff tears. Fatty degeneration grades were assessed according to the systems of Goutallier et al. and Fuchs et al. using preoperative MR and postoperative CT arthrographies. The interclass correlation coefficient was analyzed to assess interobserver and intraobserver reliabilities. For interobserver reliability using the system of Goutallier et al. the interclass correlation coefficient was higher in MR arthrography (0.6-0.72) than in CT arthrography (0.43-0.6) and higher for radiologists (0.58-0.78) than for orthopaedic surgeons (0.32-0.68). There was no difference between the systems of Goutallier et al. and Fuchs et al. Intraobserver reliabilities showed a similar pattern (0.26-0.81), but the level of experience should be considered. Although the system of Goutallier et al. is most widely used in orthopaedics, reported data should be interpreted carefully because of the relatively low reliability.
Level Of Evidence:
Level III, diagnostic study. See the Guidelines for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
