Another Look at Surgery for Full-Thickness Rotator Cuff Tears

In a propensity-score–matched comparative study, patients who had surgery had greater improvement than patients who were managed nonsurgically.

Management of full-thickness rotator cuff tears is controversial; randomized trials have yielded conflicting results (NEJM JW Gen Med Aug 15 2019 and J Bone Joint Surg Am 2019; 101:1050; and NEJM JW Gen Med Dec 15 2015 and J Bone Joint Surg Am 2015; 97:1729). In this study, orthopedists compared surgical repair and nonsurgical management of symptomatic full-thickness rotator cuff tears using prospectively collected data in a Michigan shoulder registry.

Drawing from a cohort of 422 registry patients (each treated by 1 of 3 experienced shoulder surgeons), the researchers used propensity-score matching to identify 107 patients who underwent surgery and 107 similar patients who were managed nonsurgically (e.g., with physical therapy, steroid inj…

Reviewing Author

Allan S. Brett, MD

Disclosures

Nothing to disclose

Allan S. Brett, MD

Disclosures

Nothing to disclose

Another Look at Surgery for Full-Thickness Rotator Cuff Tears

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Reviewing Author