MASSIVE ROTATOR CUFF TEARS - DEBRIDEMENT VERSUS REPAIR

Controversy exists regarding the repair versus debridement of large an d massive rotator cuff tears. To evaluate these two different manageme nt options, a previous comparative patient cohort was re-evaluated 6 t o 9 years postoperatively Group I (rotator cuff repair, 27 patients) a chieved a satisfactory result in 87% of cases, with an average UCLA sc ore of 32.5. Group II (debridement and compression without repair, 25 patients) achieved a satisfactory result in 8% of cases, with an avera ge UCLA score of 19. Twenty-three of the 25 patients in the debridemen t group required reoperation. Debridement and subacromial decompressio n alone does not seem to provide satisfactory results on long-term fol low up.