Débridement of Small Partial-thickness Rotator Cuff Tears in Elite Overhead Throwers

• Published in: Clinical orthopaedics and related research Vol. 466; no. 3; pp. 614 - 621
• Main Authors: Reynolds, Scott B., Dugas, Jeffrey R., Cain, E. Lyle, McMichael, Christopher S., Andrews, James R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer-Verlag 01.03.2008; Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Ovid Technologies
• Subjects: Adult; Arthroscopy; Athletic Performance; Baseball - injuries; Conservative Orthopedics; Debridement - methods; Humans; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Orthopedics; Recovery of Function; Retrospective Studies; Rotator Cuff - physiopathology; Rotator Cuff - surgery; Rotator Cuff Injuries; Severity of Illness Index; Sports Medicine; Surgery; Surgical Orthopedics; Symposium: New Approaches to Shoulder Surgery; Tendon Injuries - physiopathology; Tendon Injuries - surgery; Time Factors; Treatment Outcome; Rotator Cuff; Labral Tear; Baseball Player; Rotator Cuff Tear; Labral Repair
• ISSN: 0009-921X; 1528-1132
• DOI: 10.1007/s11999-007-0107-1

Elite overhead throwing athletes with rotator cuff tears represent a unique group of patients with an ultimate goal of returning to their previous level of competition. We hypothesized débridement of small partial-thickness rotator cuff tears would return the majority of elite overhead throwing athletes to their previous level of competition. Preoperative and intraoperative findings on 82 professional pitchers who had undergone débridement of partial-thickness rotator cuff tears were evaluated using our database. We obtained return to play data on 67 of the 82 players (82%); 51 (76%) were able to return to competitive pitching at the professional level and 37 (55%) were able to return to the same or higher level of competition. Of the 67 patients, 34 pitchers returned a questionnaire with a minimum followup of 18 months (mean 38 months; range 18 to 59 months). SF-12 scores were above average with a mean PSF-12 and MSF-12 of 55.04 and 56.49 respectively. An Athletic Shoulder Outcome Rating Scale score of greater than 60 was found in 76.5% of pitchers. Débridement of small partial-thickness rotator cuff tears allowed a majority of elite overhead throwing athletes to return to competitive pitching, however, returning to their previous level of competition remains a challenge for many of these players. Level of Evidence: Level IV, therapeutic study. See the Guidelines for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.