Arthroscopic repair of full-thickness tears of the rotator cuff in patients younger than 40 years.

PURPOSE: Recent reports document excellent outcomes with arthroscopic repair of rotator cuff tears (RCT). However, full-thickness RCT are uncommon in patients younger than 40 years, and few reports document results after repair in this population. The purpose of this study is to retrospectively report results of arthroscopic repair of full-thickness RCT in patients younger than 40 years.

METHODS

Twenty-three consecutive patients younger than 40 years with full-thickness RCT underwent arthroscopic repair with suture anchors. Mean age was 37 years (range, 21 to 39). The mean size of RCT was 2.4 cm in the largest dimension (range, 1 to 4 cm). The mean number of anchors used was 2.5 (range, 1 to 4). Concomitant procedures included subacromial decompression (22), distal clavicle resection (13), SLAP repair (2), biceps tenodesis (2), anterior capsulorraphy (1), and capsular releases (1), and were performed at the discretion of the surgeon. Twenty-two patients (95%) recalled a single incipient trauma; two patients sustained a dislocation. Ten patients (43%) claimed Workers' Compensation (WC). Minimum follow-up was 24 months, and mean follow-up was 26 months (range, 24 to 29).

RESULTS

Mean preoperative American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeon's (ASES) self-report score was 42 (range, 22 to 60); the mean postoperative score was 92 (range, 65 to 100; P < .01). Twenty-one patients (90%) returned to their previous level of activity and employment, including 9 (90%) with WC claims. All patients (100%) reported diminished pain, and 22 (95%) reported improvement with activities of daily living. Complications included superficial wound infection (1) and axillary nerve palsy after initial dislocation (1). Given the choice, 22 patients (95%) would have same procedure again.

CONCLUSIONS

Excellent outcomes were observed following arthroscopic rotator cuff repair both with and without concomitant procedures in patients younger than 40 years. Full-thickness RCT in patients younger than 40 years appeared to be traumatic in etiology. Successful repair returns patients to their pre-injury level of function. These results support arthroscopic rotator cuff repair in young, active patients.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level IV, therapeutic case series.