title: Rotator interval lesions and their relation to coracoid impingement syndrome.
abstract: In the last 10 years we have found impingement of the coracoid process on the rotator interval in 12 patients (14 shoulders). Seven of these patients were women and 5 were men; the average patient age was 48.5 years. One patient had a calcified coracohumeral ligament, another patient had an anterior tear of a repaired deltoid flap, and a third had an aberrant pectoralis minor tendon inserted into the rotator interval. Eleven patients had a weak rotator interval, and in 4 cases the rotator interval had a small tear. We closed the rotator interval in all 12 patients. We also performed a coracoidoplasty in 5 of the patients. The condition of all shoulders improved clinically after operation; the average follow-up was 4.2 years. Three patients (4 shoulders) still had moderate pain, and 7 patients (9 shoulders) lacked strength. Internal rotation was the only shoulder movement that remained limited. Although impingement seemed obvious during surgery, experimental studies have reported contradictory findings.
authors.affiliation: Orthopaedic Department, Hôpital St-Antoine, Paris, France.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dumontier
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sautet
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Gagey
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Apoil
mesh_terms: D000174:Acromion / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008023:Ligaments, Articular / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019637:Orthopedic Procedures; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D019534:Shoulder Impingement Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D016896:Treatment Outcome