Traumatic rotator cuff injury: does delayed surgery worsen functional outcomes?

Area of Science:

• Orthopedic Surgery
• Musculoskeletal Research
• Trauma Care

Background:

• Optimal timing for surgical repair of traumatic rotator cuff tears (RCT) remains debated.
• The impact of delayed surgery on functional outcomes after RCT repair is not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate and compare functional outcomes following early versus delayed surgical repair of traumatic rotator cuff tears.
• To assess the influence of surgical timing on patient-reported outcomes using the Oxford Shoulder Score (OSS).

Main Methods:

• A single-center retrospective study included 49 patients with acute traumatic RCT undergoing repair between 2017-2019.
• Patients were categorized into early surgery (within 6 months) and delayed surgery (over 6 months) groups.
• Pre- and post-operative Oxford Shoulder Scores (OSS) were analyzed, comparing outcomes between groups and considering tear size.

Main Results:

• No significant differences in mean post-operative OSS were found between the early (40.9 ± 6.34) and delayed (40.5 ± 7.65) surgery groups (p=0.86).
• Mean improvement in OSS was also similar between groups (22.5 ± 7.81 vs 20.97 ± 7.19, p=0.498).
• Large or massive RCTs did not result in worse OSS compared to smaller tears, regardless of surgical timing (p=0.44).

Conclusions:

• Delayed surgical repair (greater than 6 months post-injury) for traumatic rotator cuff tears does not adversely affect long-term functional outcomes.
• Patients experiencing prolonged or unavoidable delays before RCT surgery can be reassured about their potential for good functional recovery.