Arthroscopic assisted mini-open single row repair of rotator cuff tears: a quality of life impairment study

Abstract

Introduction: The present study was conducted to assess the clinical, functional and quality of life related outcome of rotator cuff repair performed using an arthroscopic assisted mini-open repair technique. Methodology: A prospective study was conducted in Department of Orthopaedics, BPS Government Medical College and Hospital, in which patients, aged 30 to 70 years, who had an isolated tear in the rotator cuff tendon diagnosed by clinical examination & confirmed by MRI and had cuff repair performed solely with the use of arthroscopic assisted mini-open technique were included. Shoulder function assessments were made with University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) rating scale and Short Form Health Survey questionnaire (SF-36). Results: Mean age of the 26 patients included was 47.12 ± 10.72 years. Most common mode of injury in our patient population was domestic fall, reported by 84.6% of the patients. Road side accident was reported by three patients and sports injury by one. Partial thickness tear was observed in 57.7% of the patients and rest had a full thickness tear. We found the UCLA score reduced significantly from 12.42 ± 3.7 preoperatively to 29.46 ± 3.01 at the end of 6 months. There is significant improvement in range of motion at the last follow up. Forward flexion averaged 84° (SD 32°, 95% CI 73–96°) preoperatively and 120° (SD 21°, 95% CI 112–127°) at the last follow-up(P