Arthroscopic repair of partial-thickness tears of the rotator cuff

Management of partial-thickness tears of the rotator cuff should include co nsideration of tear size, tear depth, patient age and activity level, and t ear etiology. We present an arthroscopic technique for repair of articular surface partial-thickness tears that may promote healing by closing the ten don side-to-side, placing the debrided tendon end in contact with an abrade d humeral surface. By repairing selected partial-thickness tears, progressi on of the tear and the need for subsequent repair may be prevented. Our pre liminary results in 28 patients are encouraging and suggest that this techn ique is a useful adjunct to tendon debridement for articular surface partia l-thickness tears of the rotator cuff.