Does the presence of arthroscopically detected stage 1–2 glenohumeral osteoarthritis have any clinical impact on the outcome of arthroscopic rotator cuff repairs?

BACKGROUND/AIM: Rotator cuff rupture (RCR) and glenohumeral osteoarthritis (GHO) are two common disorders of the shoulder joint. However, there are very few reports that examine the relationship between them. This study aimed to present at least two years’ clinical results of arthroscopic rotator cuff repair of full-thickness and massive tears accompanied by arthroscopically detected early-stage osteoarthritis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From August 2016 to December 2017, three hundred and twenty patients with total or massive rotator cuff tears were evaluated retrospectively. Thirty-five patients who were determined as stage 1 and 2 according to the Outerbridge scale for cartilage lesions were found appropriate for investigation. Patients were assessed using the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) score, and a visual analog scale (VAS) score before surgery and at the final follow-up. The American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) shoulder score was used to evaluate the final outcomes and compare the UCLA shoulder scores. RESULTS: The UCLA scores increased from the preoperative value of 19.1 ± 3.2 to 29.8 ± 4.8 at the last follow-up and increased by an average of 10.7 ± 6.0 (p < 0.001). The median VAS score decreased from the preoperative value of 3.0 to 1.0 (p < 0.001). Besides, the mean ASES score was found as 80.2 ± 10.6. An excellent positive correlation was found between postoperative UCLA scores and ASES scores (r = 0.887; p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: To the best of our knowledge, this is one of the first arthroscopic comparative studies about the effect of early glenohumeral osteoarthritis on clinical outcomes after rotator cuff tear treatment. Finding good and excellent results up to 71% after RCR repair in patients with early-stage osteoarthritis was an indication that arthroscopic repair could be planned as the first-line treatment option for RCR pathologies in patients with early-stage degenerative arthritis without considering the rerupture rate.