Five Years Follow-up After Arthroscopic Rotator Cuff Repair Using Suture Bridge Technique: Evaluation of the Retear Rate and the Impairment of the Shoulder Function

Abstract Purpose: To evaluate the retear rate after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair using a suture bridge (SB) technique for patients with full thickness rotator cuff tears and whether the non- healing cuff impaired the shoulder function.Methods: From January 2013 to January 2014, 92 patients in our institution underwent arthroscopic double-row suture bridge repair for the treatment of full-thickness rotator cuff tear 55 patients who have completed the 5 years follow-up were enrolled in this study. There were 36 female and 19 male patients, and the average age was 58.6 years (range, 41- 70 years). The tears were classified into small (<1 cm), medium (1-3 cm), large (3-5 cm), and massive (> 5 cm) according to the classification of DeOrio and Cofield. According to the intraoperative measurement, small tears were found in 5 shoulders (9%), medium tears in 19 shoulders (34.5%), large tears in 23 shoulders (41.8%), and massive tears in 8 shoulders (14.5%). The mean follow-up was 71.2 months (range, 66-78 months). Post-operative cuff integrity was evaluated with ultrasound (US) according to the published literature which was comparable to Sugaya MRI classification. Types I-III indicated cuff healing and types IV or V indicated retear. The retear patterns were divided into type 1 (failure at the original repair site) or 2 (failure around the medial row). At baseline and final follow-up, shoulder functional outcomes were measured using validated, shoulder-specific outcome scores, including the Constant-Murley score (CS) and the American Shoulder and Elbow Score (ASES). The difference in abduction muscle strength was also evaluated between the integrity and the retear group.Results: At final follow-up, the rotator cuff was completely healed in 45 of the 55 shoulders. There were recurrent tears in 10 shoulders, and the retear rate was 18.2%. The type 1 re- tear pattern was found in 4 shoulders (40%), and type 2 in 6 shoulders (60%). The Constant and ASES scores improved from 41.00 to 92.00, and from 41.33 to 88.00, respectively. The mean differences in shoulder scaption strength between the healing and the retear group were 1.1±0.82Kg and 3.0±0.88Kg respectively. The difference in muscle strength between the retear and the healing group was statistically significant (p<0.001).Conclusion: Arthroscopic suture bridge repair of full-thickness rotator cuff tears led to excellent improvement in shoulder function, but maintained a high retear rate. Although the retear group had inferior muscle strength, the patients were still satisfied, and shoulder function was improved due to pain relief. Whether such changes in muscle strength impair patients' long-term quality of life and shoulder function remains to be discussed.Level of evidence IV