Arthroscopic Repair of Combined Rotator Cuff Tears Involving the Subscapularis Tendon

Abstract

Purpose: Subscapularis tendon tears associated with supraspinatus tendon tears are often found during rotator cuff repair. However, there have been only a few reports about both subscapularis and rotator cuff repair. The authors conducted arthroscopic repair for cuff tear associated with subscapularis tendon tear and assessed its outcomes. Materials and Methods: We evaluated 320 cases of arthroscopic repair following rotator cuff tear between June 2006 and January 2009 at Gil Medical Center. Out of 66 cases (21%) associated with subscapularis tear, forty cases of bone to tendon repair using suture anchor were selected except for 26 cases of tendon to tendon repair. Clinical outcomes of 25 cases followed up for over a year were finally assessed. Clinical outcomes were evaluated using the following measures: range of shoulder motion, muscle strength, belly press test, Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) on pain, and University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) score. Results: The average VAS pain scale improved from 5.3 preoperatively to 1.4 postoperatively. Internal rotation strength increased from its preoperative level, 4.1 to 4.2 in postoperative 6 months and to 4.6 at last follow-up. Range of internal rotation increased from the second lumbar level at postoperative 6 months to the 11th thoracic level at last follow-up. UCLA score had significantly improved from 17.4 to 30.8 (p