Traumatic full-thickness transtendinous rotator cuff tears: a case series

Area of Science:

• Orthopedic Surgery
• Sports Medicine
• Musculoskeletal Research

Background:

• Rotator cuff tears, particularly those within the tendinous portion of the supraspinatus, are uncommon.
• Transtendinous tears present unique challenges for surgical repair due to the limited remaining tendon length.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe an arthroscopic repair technique for traumatic transtendinous rotator cuff tears.
• To evaluate the clinical outcomes following this specific repair method.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of seven patients with full-thickness transtendinous supraspinatus tears.
• Utilized arthroscopic side-to-side repair with suture anchor augmentation.
• Collected pre- and post-operative clinical data including strength, pain scores, and functional outcome measures.

Main Results:

• All seven patients experienced traumatic injuries, typically from falls with the arm abducted.
• Mean remaining tendon stump was 1.3 cm.
• At an average follow-up of 41.5 months, patients showed significant improvements in strength, reduced pain (VAS 0-1), and high scores on the Subjective Shoulder Value, Simple Shoulder Test, and American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons assessments (>90).

Conclusions:

• This study describes a rare type of rotator cuff tear occurring purely within the tendinous portion.
• An effective arthroscopic side-to-side repair technique for these tears has been presented.
• This is the first article to document this specific uncommon rotator cuff tear and its successful arthroscopic management.