Surgical treatment of tears of the rotator cuff in athletes.
Forty-five athletes with either a partial or a complete tear of the rotator cuff were treated with anterior acromioplasty and repair of the tear. The minimum duration of follow-up was twenty-four months (average, forty-two months). Thirty patients had an incomplete tear and fifteen had a complete tear. Postoperatively, thirty-nine (87 per cent) of the patients stated that they were improved compared with their preoperative status, although only thirty-four patients (76 per cent) felt that they had a significant reduction of pain postoperatively. Objectively, twenty-five (56 per cent) of the patients were rated as having a good result, which allowed them to return to their former competitive level without significant pain. Twelve (41 per cent) of the twenty-nine athletes who had been involved in pitching and throwing returned to their former competitive status. Seven (32 per cent) of the twenty-two pitchers and throwers who had been active at a professional or collegiate level returned to the same competitive level. In our experience, a repair of the rotator cuff combined with an acromioplasty in a young athletic population provides satisfactory relief of pain but does not guarantee that the patient will be able to return to his or her former competitive status in all sports.
D000174:Acromion / Q000601:surgery; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000601:surgery*; D001484:Baseball; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011182:Postoperative Care; D012785:Shoulder Joint; D013177:Sports; D013708:Tendon Injuries / Q000534:rehabilitation / Q000601:surgery*; D013715:Tennis; D013997:Time Factors