Objective To investigate effectiveness of rotator cuff repair with manipulation release and arthroscopic debridement for rotator cuff tear with shoulder stiffness. Methods A retrospectively study was performed on the data of 15 patients with rotator cuff tear combined with shoulder stiffness (stiff group) and 24 patients without stiffness (non-stiff group) between January 2014 and December 2015. The patients in the stiff group underwent arthroscopic rotator cuff repair with manipulation release and arthroscopic debridement while the patients in the non-stiff group only received arthroscopic rotator cuff repair. The patients in the stiff group were older than the patients in the non-stiff group, showing significant difference (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in gender, type of rotator cuff tear, side of rotator cuff tear, and combined with diabetes between 2 groups (P>0.05). The visual analogue scale (VAS) score, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) score, American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) score, and range of motion (ROM) were used to evaluate the effectiveness after operation. Results All incisions healed by first intention without any complication after operation. The patients were followed up 13-31 months in the stiff group (mean, 19.2 months) and 13-23 months in the non-stiff group (mean, 20.3 months). There was no significant difference in follow- up time between 2 groups (t=–0.573, P=0.570). The VAS score in the stiff group was higher than that in the non-stiff group before operation (t=–2.166, P=0.037); there was no significant difference between 2 groups at 3, 6, 12 months and last follow-up (P>0.05). The forward flexion and external rotation were significantly lower in the stiff group than those in the non-stiff group before operation and at 3 months after operation (P<0.05); there was no significant difference between 2 groups at 6, 12 months and last follow-up (P>0.05). At last follow-up, the internal rotation was beyond L3 level in 2 groups. The preoperative UCLA score was significant lower in the stiff group than that in the non-stiff group (P=0.037); but there was no significant difference in UCLA score at last follow-up between 2 groups (P=0.786). There was no significant difference in pre- and post-operative ASES scores between 2 groups (P>0.05). Conclusion Satisfactory effectiveness can be achieved in the patients with rotator cuff tear combined with shoulder stiffness after rotator cuff repair with manipulation release and arthroscopic debridement, although the patients with shoulder stiffness had slower postoperative recovery of ROM until 6 months after operation.
ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of unilateral rotator cuff repair on the contralateral shoulder in patients with bilateral rotator cuff tears.MethodsA clinical data of 46 patients with bilateral rotator cuff tears met the criteria between May 2016 and May 2019 was retrospectively analyzed. Of 46 patients, 23 patients underwent bilateral conservative treatment (conservation group), 23 patients underwent unilateral arthroscopic rotator cuff repair, and conservative treatment on the contralateral side (operation group). There was no significant difference in gender, age, disease duration, degree of rotator cuff tear, and comorbidities between 2 groups (P>0.05). Before operation and at 6 and 12 months after operation, the degree of the rotator cuff tear was measured by MRI, and the shoulder function was evaluated by the visual analogue scale (VAS) score, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) score, American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) score, and range of motion (ROM) (forward flexion, external rotation, external rotation at 90° of abduction, and internal rotation). The evaluation results of the non-surgical side of shoulders in the operation group were compared with one side of shoulders in the conservation group.ResultsAll incisions healed by first intention without any complication after operation. All patients were followed up 12 months. MRI reexamination showed that the degree of rotator cuff tear of the contralateral shoulder in the operation group increased significantly after operation (P<0.05). There was no significant difference between the operation group and the conservation group before operation (P>0.05), but the rotator cuff tear of the contralateral shoulder in the operation group was more serious than that of the conservation group at 6 and 12 months after operation (P<0.05). At 6 and 12 months after operation, the VAS score, UCLA score, and ASES score significantly improved when compared with the preoperative scores in 2 groups (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the VAS score, UCLA score, and ASES score between 2 groups before operation (P>0.05). The function scores in the conservation group were better than those in the operation group at 6 and 12 months after operation (P<0.05). There were significant differences in the ROM of shoulder between pre- and post-operation in 2 groups (P<0.05). And there was no significant difference between 2 groups at pre- and post-operation (P>0.05).ConclusionFor patients with bilateral rotator cuff tears, the unilateral rotator cuff repair can aggravate the rotator cuff tear of contralateral shoulder.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the clinical effectiveness and safety of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) in the arthroscopic repair of full-thickness rotator cuff injury.MethodsRelevant randomized controlled trials were identified from Cochrane Library, PubMed, Embase, China Biology Medicine Database, Chongqing VIP Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Wanfang Database (from the dates of establishment to September 2020). A systematic review was performed to compare the short-term and mid-term retear rates, the scores of the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) Shoulder Rating Scale, and the scores of Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) between the two groups. Analyses were conducted using RevMan 5.2.0 software.ResultsNine studies with low heterogeneity were included in the meta-analysis involving 610 cases (305 in the PRP group and 305 in the control group). There were significant differences in the short-term retear rate [relative risk (RR)=0.29, 95% confidence interval (CI) (0.13, 0.65), P=0.003], the short-term and the mid-term UCLA scores [standardized mean difference (SMD)=0.35, 95%CI (0.14, 0.56), P=0.000 9; SMD=0.87, 95%CI (0.53, 1.21), P<0.000 01], the short-term and the mid-term VAS scores [SMD=−0.29, 95%CI (−0.51, −0.07), P=0.009; SMD=−0.35, 95%CI (−0.66, −0.03), P=0.03] between the two groups. There was no significant difference in the mid-term retear rate [RR=0.88, 95%CI (0.48, 1.63), P=0.69] or complication rate [RR=1.40, 95%CI (0.78, 2.54), P=0.26] between the two groups.ConclusionsPRP injection can effectively improve the clinical outcomes following arthroscopic repair of full-thickness rotator cuff tears, thus reducing the short-term retear rate, alleviating pain, and improving patients’ shoulder function.
ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of asymptomatic hyperuricemia on the effectiveness of arthroscopic rotator cuff repair.MethodsThe clinical data of 80 patients who underwent arthroscopic rotator cuff repair and met the selection criteria between March 2018 and December 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. According to the serum uric acid level, the patients were divided into hyperuric acid group (46 cases, the serum uric acid level was more than 417 μmol/L in males and was more than 357 μmol/L in females) and normal group (34 cases, serum uric acid level was lower than the above standard). There was no significant difference in gender, age, side, body mass index, blood glucose level, total cholesterol level, rotator cuff tear size, and preoperative shoulder motion, visual analogue scale (VAS) score, University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) score, Constant score, American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) score, and other general data between the two groups (P>0.05). The range of motion of abduction, forward flexion, and external rotation at 90° abduction were recorded and compared between the two groups before operation and at last follow-up; the improvement of shoulder pain was evaluated by VAS score; the improvement of shoulder function was evaluated by UCLA score, Constant score, and ASES score; and the shoulder joint MRI grade was evaluated according to Sugaya evaluation criteria.ResultsAll patients were followed up 9-16 months, with an average of 11.9 months; there was no significant difference in the follow-up time between the two groups (t=0.968, P=0.336). There were 2 cases of retear in the hyperuric acid group (including 1 case of severe tear) and 1 case of light retear in the normal group. The remaining patients in the two groups had no early-related complications. At last follow-up, the range of motion of the shoulder joints (abduction, forward flexion, external rotation at 90° abduction), VAS score, UCLA score, Constant score, and ASES score of the two groups were significantly improved when compared with preoperative ones (P<0.05); the above indicators in the normal group were significantly better than those in the hyperuric acid group (P<0.05). The MRI grade of the shoulder joint in the normal group was significantly better than that in the hyperuric acid group (Z=–2.000, P=0.045).ConclusionCompared with patients with normal serum uric acid level, asymptomatic hyperuricemia can lead to worse recovery after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair in patients with rotator cuff tears.
Objective To evaluate the influencing factors that affect early pain after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair. MethodsA clinical data of 592 patients who met the selection criteria and underwent arthroscopic rotator cuff repair between June 2018 and October 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 239 males and 353 females, with an average age of 58.1 years (range, 32-81 years). Before operation and at 3 days, 6 weeks, and 3 months after operation, the pain degree of patients was evaluated by visual analogue scale (VAS) score; and the patients were divided into no pain or mild pain group and moderate to severe pain group according to the postoperative VAS score. Preoperative and intraoperative related factors were included for univariate analysis, including age, gender, body mass index, preoperative VAS score, history of frozen shoulder, history of hypertension, history of diabetes, history of smoking, affected tendons (supraspinatus, infraspinatus, or subscapularis tendon injury), supraspinatus muscle atrophy, fatty infiltration, operation time, degree of rotator cuff tear, number of anchors, and whether to perform acromioplasty. The influencing factors of postoperative pain were screened; further logistic regression was used to conduct multivariate analysis to screen for risk factors. Results Moderate to severe pain occurred in 440 patients (74.3%) at 3 days after operation, 382 patients (66.2%) at 6 weeks, and 141 patients (23.8%) at 3 months. Multivariate analysis showed that the women, partial-thickness rotator cuff tear, and acromioplasty were risk factors for pain at 3 days after operation (P<0.05); the women, combined with fatty infiltration, partial-thickness rotator cuff tear, and acromioplasty were the risk factors at 6 weeks (P<0.05); and the women, combined with fatty infiltration, and partial-thickness rotator cuff tear were risk factors at 3 months (P<0.05). Conclusion Among patients undergoing arthroscopic rotator cuff repair, women, those with smaller rotator cuff tears, combined with fatty infiltration, and acromioplasty have more severe pain within 3 months after operation, and attention should be paid to postoperative analgesia in these patients management, providing an individualized approach to rehabilitation, and closer follow-up.
Objective To analyze the effect of stump-preserving repair on rotator cuff healing and shoulder function for degenerative total rotator cuff tears. Methods A clinical data of 152 patients with degenerative total rotator cuff tears, who underwent arthroscopic repair between April 2019 and May 2022, was retrospectively analyzed. There were 76 males and 76 females with an average age of 55.4 years (range, 24-78 years). MRI was performed at 6 months postoperatively to evaluate the rotator cuff healing according to the Sugaya classification. Pre- and intra-operative related factors were included for univariate analysis, including age (≥60 years/<60 years), gender (male/female), passive activity disorder (yes/no), disease duration (≤3 months/>3 months), stump-preserving repair (yes/no), use of suture bridge technique (yes/no), shoulder joint abduction angle at knotting (<45°/≥45°), acromioplasty (yes/no), glucocorticoid injection (yes/no), time for patients to start postoperative passive exercise (≤2 weeks/>2 weeks), and time for patients to start postoperative active exercise (≤3 months/>3 months). The influencing factors of tendon healing were screened; further logistic regression was used to conduct multivariate analysis to screen for risk factors. Two sets of data were balanced by propensity score matching. The American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) score and Constant-Murley score of shoulder joint function at 6 and 12 months postoperatively, as well as rotator cuff healing rate at 6 months postoperatively, were compared between groups based on whether or not stump-preserving repair was used. Results All patients were followed up 12-33 months (mean, 23.8 months). MRI at 25-31 weeks postoperatively showed the 121 cases of rotator cuff healing and 31 cases of non healing. Univariate analysis showed that the disease duration, stump-preserving repair, shoulder joint abduction angle at knotting, and the time for patients to start postoperative active exercise were the influencing factors of rotator cuff healing (P<0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that non-stump-preserving repair, shoulder abduction angle more than 45° at knotting, and the time to start active exercise within 3 months postoperatively were risk factors affecting rotator cuff healing (P<0.05). A total of 51 pairs of cases were matched based on the grouping criteria of whether the disease duration exceeded 3 months, whether the shoulder abduction angle at knotting exceeded 45°, and whether the time to start postoperative active exercise exceeded 3 months. The rotator cuff healing rate, ASES score, and Constant-Murley score of the preserving repair group at 6 months postoperatively were superior to those of the non-preserving repair group, and the differences were significant (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in ASES score and Constant-Murley score between the two groups at 12 months postoperatively (P>0.05). Conclusion For degenerative total rotator cuff tears, the stump-preserving repair can shorten the healing time and promote the shoulder function recovery, but has no significant effect on shoulder function at 1 year postoperatively.