In situ transtendon repair outperforms tear completion and repair for partial articular-sided supraspinatus tendon tears.
This biomechanical study compared 2 repair techniques for high-grade, partial, articular-sided supraspinatus tendon tears of the rotator cuff: transtendon in situ repair and tear completion with repair. Standardized, 50% partial, articular-sided supraspinatus lesions were created in 10 pairs of matched fresh, frozen cadaveric shoulders: 10 underwent partial lesion repair with an in situ transtendon technique using 2 suture anchors. In the contralateral 10 shoulders, the partial lesion was converted to a full-thickness tear and repaired with a double-row technique, using 4 suture anchors. Cyclic loading to failure of the supraspinatus tendon was performed using a material testing machine. Gap formation was measured for each rotational position and each incremental load. The in situ transtendon repair had statistically significant less gapping (P = .0001) and higher mean ultimate failure strength (P = .0011) than the double-row repair. In situ transtendon repair was biomechanically superior to tear completion for partial, articular-sided supraspinatus tears.
Center for Shoulder, Elbow, and Sports Medicine, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA.
Guillem
G
Gonzalez-Lomas
Matthew A
MA
Kippe
Gabriel D
GD
Brown
Thomas R
TR
Gardner
Anthony
A
Ding
William N
WN
Levine
Christopher S
CS
Ahmad
D000328:Adult; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D002102:Cadaver; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019637:Orthopedic Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D017006:Rotator Cuff / Q000503:physiopathology; D000070636:Rotator Cuff Injuries; D013536:Suture Techniques; D013708:Tendon Injuries / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery*