Portal-extension approach for the repair of small and medium rotator cuff tears

One hundred ten consecutive cases (110 patients) of arthroscopically assist ed rotator cuff repair through a limited, portal-extension approach were re trospectively reviewed. The average age of our patients was 58 years (range , 30 to 79). There were 35 women and 75 men. The dominant shoulder was affe cted in 67 patients (61%). All patients underwent a standard arthroscopic d ecompression. Acromioclavicular resections were performed in 15% of patient s. The anterolateral portal was extended in the direction of Langer's lines to a total length of no more than 3 cm. The torn tendon was accessed throu gh a small deltoid muscle split and repaired with nonabsorbable sutures. At an average follow-up of 35 months (range, 24 to 86), 106 patients (96%) ha d achieved excellent or satisfactory results. The average American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons pain score improved from 7 preoperatively to 2 postoper atively. All but four patients were satisfied with the clinical result and reported significant improvement in active elevation and strength and a sig nificant lessening of pain. Late acromioclavicular joint pain contributed t o failure in three of the four patients with unsatisfactory results in this series. The results of this study suggest that, in selected patients with small to medium rotator cuff tears, arthroscopically assisted repair throug h an anterolateral portal-extension approach can produce excellent results.