Results of Surgical Repair of Full-Thickness Tears of the Rotator Cuff

Shoulder pain is often caused by pathologic conditions of the rotator cuff.Disorders associated with the rotator cuff range from simple tendinitis to chronic, massive, full-thickness tears.Although treatment frequently is nonoperative, in certain cases surgical management is recommended.Since Codman14 reported his results with surgical treatment of a rotator cuff tear in 1909, much has been learned about the technique and outcome of this procedure.Many investigators have studied the factors that influence the outcome after rotator cuff repair.This article reviews these different factors as well as the various methods of reporting outcome after shoulder surgery.