Partial articular-sided supraspinatus tear: a comparison between transtendon repair and tear completion and repair

Partial articular sided supraspinatus tear is a common type of rotator cuff tear, often cause of pain generally nocturne and real or apparent weakness of the rotator cuff. Different ways of treatment have been proposed, but in case of repair of the lesion it's not clear whether transtendon repair or complete/repair the tear is better. The purpose of this study is to compare the clinical and subjective difference between these two techniques in two homolougus groups. Material and Methods 74 patients with a partial tear of the supraspinatus confirmed with arthroscopy were randomized in two groups of 37 patients each. The first group (A) was treated with a transtendon repair while the second group (B) was treated with a completion of the tear and a formal repair. Both groups were treated with arthroscopic techniques and all the patients were revaluated at a minimum follow up of two years with Constant score (CS) and Visual Analogic Scale (VAS). Results In group A the Constant score improved by a mean value of 25.15 (from 62.45 to 87.61) and VAS score of a mean value of 3.48 (from 8.85 to 5.37). In group B the Constant score improved by a mean value of 29.02 (from 57.82 to 86.85) and VAS score of a mean value of 3.67 (from 9.1 to 5.4). The data are similar but analyzing the subgroup of the Constant Score, we noticed that the improvement was higher in both group for the Activities of Daily Living and that in Group B the improvement in strength was higher than in Group A. Conclusion We conclude that a repair in partial articular-sided supraspinatus tear provide good results in term of function and pain regardless the technique of repair. But the completion and the repair of the tear provide better results in strength than a transtedon repair