A Comparative Study between the Results of Arthroscopic Rotator Cuff Repair with and Without Acromioplasty

Abstract

BackgroundCuff tears can range in severity, with tears affecting the entire tendon and partial-thickness tears affecting only a part of the tendon. The goal of this work was to compare the functional results of arthroscopic cuff repair with and without subacromial decompression.Patients and MethodsThis prospective randomized study was conducted on 60 patients who had full-thickness supraspinatus with or without infraspinatus tear. The patients were randomized into two equal groups: group I had arthroscopic repair of the tear with acromioplasty and group II underwent arthroscopic repair of the rotator cuff tear only without acromioplasty. All patients underwent general clinical examination, shoulder examination, and imaging evaluation, including plain radiographs and MRI of the shoulder.ResultsGroup I included nine (30%) males and 21(70%) females with a mean age of 51.6 years old. The mean duration of follow-up was 27.1 months. Group II also included also nine (30%) males and 21(70%) females with an average age of 52.53 years old. The mean follow-up duration was 27.6 months. According to postoperative modified University of California-Los Angeles, group II had slightly better functional results, better active forward flexion, relatively higher results regarding postoperative muscle power, less pain, and a higher satisfaction rate, but without significant difference between both groups.ConclusionsArthroscopic cuff repair with or without acromioplasty shows no statistically significant difference in clinical outcomes. This study showed that acromioplasty was not necessary to be a part of cuff repair, as it was believed before.