Outcome of arthroscopic subscapularis tendon repair: Are the results improving with improved techniques and equipment?: A retrospective case series

BACKGROUND: Rotator cuff tears are a common cause of shoulder pain and dysfunction. More recently, there has been a renewed interest in understanding the subscapularis tears. There are multiple articles in the literature showing the short term results of isolated subscapularis tendon repair. However, the midterm and long term outcome studies for arthroscopic subscapularis repair are few. This study evaluates the functional outcome after arthroscopic subscapularis repair. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The records of 35 patients who underwent an arthroscopic subscapularis repair between May 2008 and June 2012 were included in this retrospective study. The records of all patients were reviewed. There were 22 males and 13 female patients with mean age of 58.2 years (range 41-72 years). All patients had a complete history, physical examination, and radiographs of their shoulders. Visual analogue scale (VAS), range of movements, power of cuff muscles, and modified University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) score were assessed. RESULTS: The mean followup was 2.8 years (range 2-4 year). Functional outcome after arthroscopic subscapularis repair has an excellent outcome as analysed by clinical outcome, VAS score and UCLA score. Results were analyzed and had statistically significant values. The VAS for pain improved significantly (P < 0.001), and the mean modified UCLA score improved significantly (P < 0.001) from 14.24 ± 4.72 preoperatively to 33.15 ± 2.29 at 2 years postoperative. According to the UCLA system, there were 22 excellent, 11 good, and 2 fair results. Around 95% of patients returned to their usual work after surgery. CONCLUSION: At a median followup of 2 years, 95% of patients had a good to excellent result after an arthroscopic subscapularis tendon repair. We conclude that the midterm results show that arthroscopic subscapularis repair remains a good option for the treatment of patients with subscapularis tendon repair.