COMPARISON BETWEEN OPEN AND ARTHROSCOPIC ACROMIOPLASTIES - EVALUATIONOF ABSENTEEISM

OBJECTIVE: TO evaluate the rate of absenteeism from work in patients w ho had undergone open or arthroscopic acromioplasty. DESIGN: A retrosp ective case series. SETTING: A university hospital. PATIENTS: Eighteen patients with excellent results after open acromioplasty performed by one orthopedic surgeon, and 20 patients with excellent results after arthroscopic acromioplasty performed by another orthopedic surgeon. MA IN OUTCOME MEASURE: The time between operation and return to work. RES ULTS: There were no statistical differences between the two techniques with respect to the return to work, age, sex and type of work. The ov erall time off work averaged 203 days (range from 42 to 840 daps) for the arthroscopic group compared with 144 days (range from 60 to 540 da ys) for the open group. CONCLUSIONS: Open acromioplasty, a safe and re liable procedure for the general orthopedic surgeon, is associated wit h a shorter, though not significant, delay in return to work than the arthroscopic technique.