Operations for impingement of the shoulder. Early results in 52 patients

This is a prospective study of 52 consecutive patients with impingement syndrome of the shoulder who underwent an anterior acromioplasty according to Neer with rotator cuff repair and/or a resection of the lateral end of the clavicle added where it was indicated. There was a full-thickness tear in 14 cases. The follow-up was 11 months. The overall results were excellent-good in 40 patients and fair-poor in 12 patients. If two out of three of the following criteria were present, the patient had an increased risk for a fair or poor result: age greater than 50 years, sick leave greater than 6 months, or an associated cervical problem.