The clinical and radiologic outcome of microfracture on arthroscopic repair for full-thickness rotator cuff tear

The persistent incidence of retear despite improvements in techniques led orthopedic surgeons to the application of principles of tissue bioengineering to achieve enhanced repair and functional outcomes. The purpose of this study was to compare clinical and radiologic outcomes of arthroscopic single-row repair augmented with microfracture (SRM) at the greater tuberosity with single-row (SR) and double-row (DR) repair in the treatment of full-thickness rotator cuff tears.

This is a retrospective comparative study. A total of 123 patients were enrolled for arthroscopic repair of full-thickness rotator cuff tears, with 40 patients treated by SR, 44 by SRM, and 39 by DR. The minimum follow-up was 2 years. The primary outcome was retear rate, which was detected by magnetic resonance imaging, and the secondary outcome was functional outcome.

The mean age of the patients was 59.2 years, 58.1 years, and 60.6 years in the SR, SRM, and DR groups, respectively. The retear rate was 33%, 14%, and 36% in the SR, SRM, and DR groups, respectively (P = .045). The SRM group had significantly improved functional outcomes compared with the SR and DR groups in terms of the postoperative Constant score and visual analog scale score (P = .001 and .002, respectively). Delta Constant scores were nonsignificant for retear and intact tendons (P = .137).

SRM has a significantly lower retear rate and better functional outcome than SR and DR repair.