Is the Nomenclature of Massive Rotator Cuff Tear Used Correctly? Systematic Review

Abstract

Background: The term massive refers to a quantitative measure of the rotator cuff tears. Irreparable rotator cuff tear is indicated by ratings that qualitatively evaluate the repairability of the tendon. These two terms should be considered separately. Methods: Between 2016 and 2022, publications in the last about 5 years were searched from Pubmed and MEDLINE online databases. The search terms (irreparable OR massive) AND (rotator cuff tear), (repairable OR massive) AND (rotator cuff tear), (massive OR retracted) AND (rotator cuff tear), (irreparable OR retracted) AND (rotator cuff tear) ”were used. For each search term, it was checked whether the title of the search term was mentioned in the title of the article, and whether the title and the content were compatible in the studies in which the searched term was mentioned in the title. Results: Of the 934 scanned articles, 69 of them were evaluated in terms of study title and material-method compatibility. 22 articles with the term “massive rotator cuff tear” in the title were identified. It was seen that in 11 of these 22 articles (50%), the title and the material method were compatible and in 11 of them (50%) the title and the content were incompatible, and the term “massive” was used instead of the term “irreparable”. Conclusions: We see that most of the studies on massive tears were actually done to emphasize irreparable tears. Since most of the massive tears are repairable, the quality feature of massive tears, which are in the group that poses a problem, as irreparable rotator cuff tear or massive irreparable rotator cuff tear should be emphasized. Keywords: Rotator cuff tears, Shoulder, Arthroscopy, Ireparable, Massive