The Evolution of Arthroscopic Rotator Cuff Repair

Abstract

Over the past 30 years, arthroscopic rotator cuff repair (ARCR) has evolved to become the gold standard in treating rotator cuff pathology. As procedural concepts of ARCR continue to improve, it is also continually compared with the open rotator cuff repair as the historical standard of care. This review highlights the evolution of ARCR, including a historical perspective; the anatomic, clinical, and surgical implications of the development of an arthroscopic approach; how arthroscopy improved some of the problems of the open approach; adaptations in techniques and technologies associated with ARCR; future perspectives in orthobiologics as they pertain to ARCR; and lastly, the clinical improvements, or lack of improvements, with all of these adaptations.

Three Medial All Suture Anchors Improves Contact Force Compared to Two Hard Body Anchors in a Biomechanical Two-Tendon Rotator Cuff Tear Model

“…A variety of techniques can be used to repair rotator cuff tears, including single-row repair, double-row (DR) repair, and transosseous-equivalent repair. 1 From a biomechanical standpoint, the goals of a rotator cuff repair are to maximize strength and increase contact force at time zero. Single-row repairs use a low-tension compression of the tendon to the tuberosity.…”

“… 8 , 9 , 10 The initial suture-bridging DR repairs used constructs with two 5.5-mm medial hard body (HB) anchors linked to 2 lateral knotless anchors. 1 Unfortunately, failure of healing has continued to be observed, especially with increasing tear size, degree of fatty atrophy, and patient characteristics. One strategy to address this is placing additional anchors to increase the number of points of fixation.…”

Study on properties and biocompatibility of poly (butylene succinate) and sodium alginate biodegradable composites for biomedical applications

“…The suture anchor is a medical implant that is used to suture torn tendon to bone in the treatment of rotator cuff tears and other sports injuries [13]. The tendon-bone interface is predominantly repaired by inflammatory infiltration, collagen production, and regeneration between soft tissue and bone, which is composed of four consecutive layers: tendon fibres, uncalcified fibrocartilage, calcified fibrocartilage, and bone [14].…”

Comparative effectiveness of different platelet-rich plasma for arthroscopic rotator cuff repair: A protocol for systematic review and network meta-analysis

“…[ 1 ] Arthroscopic rotator cuff repair (ARCR) can effectively relieve pain and improve the function scores of patients. It has become the gold standard for the treatment of rotator cuff injuries, [ 2 ] but the postoperative retear rate varies between 5% and 51%. [ 3 ] The retear substantially affects patients’ satisfaction and dramatically increases the probability of a second operation.…”