Rotator cuff repairs in patients 62 years of age or older

We retrospectively reviewed 105 consecutive patients aged 62 years and olde r who had undergone a repair of a rotator cuff tear to evaluate the efficac y of this surgery in patients in this age range. Six patients died, and 7 h ad less than 2 years of follow-up or were incapable of returning for examin ation. Ninety-two patients with 97 rotator cuff tears were re-examined. The average preoperative UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) score wa s 12.9 (range 8 to 20), and the average postoperative score wets 32.4 (rang e 12 to 35). Five patients (5%) had failure of the repair, accounting for t he poor results. Severe complications included infection (1 patient) and br achial plexus stretch injury (1 patient). Four additional patients sustaine d minor complications, For an overall rate of 6%. Overall, 87% of patients had good or excellent results. Eight additional patients, while satisfied, were classified as fair OF the 5 failures, 3 were revised to a satisfactory result. Thus 90 of the 92 patients in the study were satisfied with the re sult of the surgery at final follow-up. Rotator cuff repair in patients 62 years and older results in increased function, decreased pain, and satisfac tory results.