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Updated: Jul 4, 2025
Reverse Total Shoulder Arthroplasty
Published on: July 5, 2011
Outcomes After Revision Arthroscopic Rotator Cuff Repair: A Systematic Review
Eoghan T Hurley1, Alexandra N Krez1, Kevin A Wu1
1Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
Background:
Arthroscopic rotator cuff repair (ARCR) is one of the most commonly performed orthopaedic procedures; however, it is unclear how to manage patients with symptomatic retears.
Purpose:
To perform a systematic review to evaluate the outcomes of revision ARCR in the literature.
Study Design:
Systematic review; Level of evidence, 4.
Methods:
A systematic literature search based on PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines was performed utilizing the Embase, MEDLINE, and Cochrane Library databases. Eligible for inclusion were clinical studies reporting on revision rotator cuff repair. Clinical outcomes were recorded.
Results:
The 17 included studies were composed of 888 shoulders in 885 patients. The mean age of the 885 patients was 58.6 ± 9.1 years, with a mean follow-up of 28.1 ± 22.1 months. The mean visual analog scale score was 2.1 ± 1.8, the mean American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons score was 75.0 ± 18.3, and the mean Constant score was 67.4 ± 16.6. The overall rate of retears after revision was 25.3%, with an 8.0% reoperation rate including 2.7% undergoing reverse shoulder arthroplasty and 2.0% undergoing subsequent rotator cuff repair. Finally, the complication rate was 8.6%.
Conclusion:
Revision ARCR improved patient-reported outcomes, with 92% of patients free from reoperations at a mean follow-up of 2 years. Overall, 78.4% of patients were satisfied at final follow-up; however, the rate of retears was found to be higher than after primary ARCR.
