ObjectiveTo evaluate the prevalence of rotator cuff tears and describe the profile of reoperated patients, causes of repeated tendon tears, tear evolution and range of times between surgical procedures.MethodThis was a cross-sectional study involving 604 surgical procedures performed at two regional referral hospitals between January 2006 and December 2012. After approval by the ethics committee, data describing the patients’ epidemiological profile were gathered at a single time, using Cofield's classification to measure the extent of the tears, all of which underwent arthroscopic surgery. The data were entered into Epi Info 3.5.3 and were analyzed using SPSS version 18.0.ResultsAmong the 604 surgical procedures, females were affected in more cases (351; 58.1%). When the dominant limb was the right limb, it was affected in 90% of the cases (p < 0.05). The supraspinatus tendon was affected in 574 cases (95%) and the tears were of medium size in 300 cases (49.7%). Eighteen reoperations were performed (2.98%) and the upper right limb was the most affected (66.6%). The cause was non-traumatic in 12 patients. The repeated tears were mostly smaller (44%), and the length of time between the two surgical procedures ranged from 6 to 298 weeks.ConclusionFemale gender, smaller extent in the second procedure and non-traumatic cause were found in most of the cases analyzed.

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ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to evaluate the results from arthroscopic tenodesis of the long head of the biceps brachii (LHBB) on the tendon of the subscapularis muscle, with regard to the presence of pain, subscapularis lesion, presence of Popeye's sign and patient satisfaction.MethodsA prospective cohort study was conducted on 32 patients with LHBB lesions, through preoperative interviews and physical examinations, which were repeated six months after the operation. The main variables studied were the belly press, bear hug and lift-off tests, Popeye's sign, anterior pain and satisfaction. The data were entered into Epi Info 3.5.4 and SPSS 18.0. In order to investigate the variables of interest, the chi-square, Student t and Kruskal–Wallis tests were used. The confidence interval was 95% and p values less than 0.05 were taken to be statistically significant.Results32 patients of median age 57.5 years were evaluated. Anterior pain was reported by one interviewee after the operation. The tests for evaluating subscapularis lesions did not show any damage to this musculature after the surgery. Popeye's sign was negative in all the patients. The patient satisfaction rate reached 90.6% of the interviewees.ConclusionThis study showed that the new surgical technique described here presented excellent performance, without any subscapularis lesion and without identifying Popeye's sign. Only 3.1% of the patients had complaints of residual pain. The high level of satisfaction among the patients after the surgery confirms the results presented.

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Resumo Objetivo Comparar dados clínicos do exame físico com os achados artroscópicos na ruptura do manguito rotador. Métodos Foram selecionados 177 pacientes submetidos ao tratamento artroscópico de ruptura do manguito rotador e foram comparados os achados artroscópicos com o exame físico. Resultados Os testes irritativos de impacto apresentaram alta sensibilidade para ruptura do manguito rotador. Dentre os testes de força, o de maior sensibilidade foi o teste de Patte (85,7%) e o de maior valor preditivo positivo (VPP) foi o teste de Jobe (95%). O teste Drop Sign apresentou maior especificidade e valor preditivo negativo (VPN) (98,7 e 95,9%, respectivamente). Pacientes com história de trauma possuíam 3,5 vezes mais chances de apresentarem o teste Lift Off positivo. Conclusão Os testes irritativos tiveram alta sensibilidade para rupturas do manguito rotador. O teste de Jobe apresentou sensibilidade semelhante entre os pacientes que tinham lesão parcial ou total do supraespinhal. Para as lesões completas do subescapular, as testes Lift Off e Belly Press apresentaram alta sensibilidade e especificidade.