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Background: Repair of medium to large rotator cuff tears (RCTs) presents ongoing challenges, as the procedure may result in tendon retear and inadequate healing. Partial superior capsular reconstruction (pSCR) using the long head of the biceps tendon (LHBT) has emerged as a biomechanically robust and biologically advantageous technique for augmenting rotator cuff repairs. This study aims to evaluate the clinical and structural outcomes of arthroscopic rotator cuff repair augmented with pSCR using the LHBT combined with distal tenotomy in patients with medium to large reparable RCTs at two years postoperatively. Methods: A retrospective review was conducted on patients who underwent arthroscopic rotator cuff repair augmented with LHBT-based pSCR and distal tenotomy between January 2014 and June 2017. Surgical indications were reparable supraspinatus tears, with or without infraspinatus involvement, accompanied by tendon retraction, high-grade fatty infiltration, and an intact or less than 50% partial tear of the LHBT. Exclusion criteria included prior shoulder surgery, shoulder infection, irreparable subscapularis tear, or incomplete follow-up. Clinical outcomes were assessed using the visual analog scale (VAS) for pain, the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) score, and range of motion, while structural integrity was evaluated via ultrasonography at the 2-year follow-up. Results: < .001). All patients met the minimal clinically important difference for both VAS and ASES scores. Ultrasonography at the 2-year follow-up demonstrated complete healing of the repair with the pSCR construct in 86.7% of patients, partial healing in 6.6%, and complete retear in 6.6%. No patients reported postoperative anterior shoulder pain. Subgroup analysis showed comparable outcomes between single-row repair with pSCR for medium-sized RCTs and double-row repair with pSCR for large-sized RCTs. Conclusion: Arthroscopic rotator cuff repair augmented with LHBT-based pSCR and distal tenotomy resulted in significant improvements in pain and range of motion at the 2-year follow-up in patients with medium to large reparable RCTs. A high healing rate was observed with the pSCR construct, and no significant complications were reported.
Baek et al. (Tue,) studied this question.