EVALUATION OF THE RESULTS FROM REOPERATIONS ON PATIENTS WITH ROTATOR CUFF LESIONS

Objectives: To assess the results from open or arthroscopic surgical treatment on patients with symptomatic recurrence of rotator cuff injuries. Methods: Between December 1990 and July 2007, 30 patients were assessed and underwent reoperation performed by the Shoulder and Elbow Surgery Group of the Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Fernandinho Simonsen Wing, Santa Casa de São Paulo, because of dehiscence of the rotator cuff suture. The study included patients with symptomatic recurrence of the injury and with at least 24 months of postoperative follow-up. Results: According to the UCLA evaluation criteria, 21 patients (70%) showed excellent or good outcomes; and nine patients (30%) showed fair or poor outcomes. Conclusion: Open or arthroscopic surgical treatment of recurrent rotator cuff injuries tended to present worse results than from the primary repair. In this study, we found that 70% of the results were excellent and good. The presence of extensive injuries in the reoperation tended to evolve with larger numbers of unsatisfactory results. In our study, we obtained better results from arthroscopic surgery than from open surgery.