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Comparison between open and arthroscopic acromioplasties: evaluation of absenteeism
P Kinnard1, K Van Hoef, D Major
1Division of Orthopedic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Université Laval, Quebec.
Objective:
To evaluate the rate of absenteeism from work in patients who had undergone open or arthroscopic acromioplasty.
Design:
A retrospective case series.
Setting:
A university hospital.
Patients:
Eighteen patients with excellent results after open acromioplasty performed by one orthopedic surgeon and 20 patients with excellent results after arthroscopic acromioplasty performed by another orthopedic surgeon.
Main Outcome Measure:
The time between operation and return to work.
Results:
There were no statistical differences between the two techniques with respect to the return to work, age, sex and type of work. The overall time off work averaged 203 days (range from 42 to 840 days) for the arthroscopic group compared with 144 days (range from 60 to 540 days) for the open group.
Conclusions:
Open acromioplasty, a safe and reliable procedure for the general orthopedic surgeon, is associated with a shorter, thought not significant, delay in return to work than the arthroscopic technique.