Open versus arthroscopic treatment of chronic rotator cuff impingement

We report the results of 238 consecutive patients who underwent in total 26 1 acromioplasties because of chronic rotator cuff impingement. The procedur e was performed either in conventional open technique (80) or arthroscopica lly (181). Two years (1-10) after the operation 68% of the patients treated with the open technique had an excellent or good result compared 82% of th e patients treated arthroscopically by an experienced arthroscopic surgeon. Compared to the open technique, the arthroscopic procedure had a statistic ally significant superior result concerning outcome, operating time and hos pital stay. Arthroscopic procedures performed by less experienced surgeons had inferior results.