Arthroscopic bursal layer-only double-row suture-bridge repair for delaminated rotator cuff tear difficult to reposit

Objective To evaluate the clinical efficacy of arthroscopic bursal layer-only double-row suture-bridge repair for delaminated rotator cuff tear which is difficult to reposit in comparison with separate double-layer repair and whole-layer repair. Methods From May 2013 through June 2016, 82 patients with delaminated rotator cuff tear difficult to reposit were treated at Department of Joint Surgery, The Affiliate Hospital to Chengde Medical University. They were 47 males and 35 females with a mean age of 53.0±7.9 years. They were divided into 3 groups according to their surgical procedures. In group A, 28 cases were treated by arthroscopic whole-layer double-row suture-bridge procedure; in group B, 29 cases were treated by arthroscopic separate double-layer double-row suture-bridge procedure; in group C, 25 cases were treated by arthroscopic bursal layer-only double-row suture-bridge procedure. The 3 groups were compared in terms of University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) score, American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) score, visual analogue scale (VAS), Constant shoulder score, range of motion of shoulder joint and rotator cuff retear preoperatively and postoperatively. Results The patients in the 3 groups were comparable because their preoperative general data showed no significant significances (P>0.05). The operation time for groups A, B and C was respectively 105.5±5.6 min, 117.4±6.9 min and 88.0±4.2 min, showing significant differences between the 3 groups (P 0.05). The occurrence of rotator cuff retear in groups A, B and C were respectively 17.9%(5/28), 13.8%(4/29) and 12.0%(3/25), showing no significant differences between the 3 groups (P>0.05). Conclusions In repair of delaminated rotator cuff tear difficult to reposit, although the arthroscopic bursal layer-only double-row suture-bridge repair is similar to conventional arthroscopic whole-layer double-row suture-bridge repair and arthroscopic separate double-layer double-row suture-bridge repair in functional recovery and range of motion of the shoulder and incidence of rotator cuff retear, it can reduce obviously operation time and make the operation easier. Key words: Shoulder joint; Arthroscopy; Lacerations; Whole-layer repair; Separate double-layer repair; Bursal layer-only repair