[Surgical therapy and results in rupture of the rotator cuff]

Follow up evaluations of 57 patients with surgically treated rotator cuff tears are presented and valued with regard to the literature. A short anterior exposure and cuff anchorage to the humerus is the method of choice. Anterior acromioplasty should not be a routine. Attention should be paid to adhesions of the sub-coracoidal space, they should be separated if necessary. Patients being of older age, with a short history and a long time interval between operation and final evaluation do have the best results.