Assessment of the effectiveness of surgical treatment of patients with massive tears of the rotator cuff tendons using arthroscopically assisted transposition of the latissimus dorsi tendon

Rotator cuff tears are one of the most common musculoskeletal injuries and account for about 20 %. Massive rotator cuff tears account for up to 40 % of all tears. There  is  no  single approach in the treatment of patients with massive rotator cuff tears. We have developed a new method of surgical treatment of these patients – arthroscopically assisted transposition of the latissimus dorsi tendon using 1/2 of the tendon of the long peroneal muscle.

The aim of the study. To assess the effectiveness of surgical treatment of patients with massive rotator cuff tears who had arthroscopically assisted transposition of the latissimus dorsi tendon using an autograft of a 1/2 of the tendon of the long peroneal muscle.

Materials and methods. The study included 15  patients with Patte stage  III and Thomazeau grade 2–3 massive rotator cuff tears, who had arthroscopically assisted transposition of the latissimus dorsi tendon using 1/2 of the tendon of the long peroneal muscle.

Results. The article presents the long-term results of surgical treatment of patients using the developed method. The following criteria were evaluated: average age; time since injury; duration of surgery. Functional outcome was assessed using the ASES (American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons) scale. Taking into account the indicators on the ASES functional scale 1 year after surgical treatment, the following results were obtained: excellent – in 14 (93.3 %) patients, satisfactory – in 1 (6.7 %) patient.

Conclusion. The developed method allows us to restore the function of the shoulder joint as early as it possible, to reduce the severity of the pain syndrome and to improve the quality of life of patients.

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