Arthroscopic Repair of the Isolated Subscapularis Full-Thickness Tear: Single- Versus Double-Row Suture-Bridge Technique

Abstract

Background:

No clinical comparative study has addressed isolated subscapularis tears after arthroscopic repair with either single-row or double-row suture-bridge technique.

Purpose/Hypothesis:

The purpose of this study is to compare clinical outcomes and structural integrity after arthroscopic repair of an isolated subscapularis full-thickness tear with either the single-row technique or the double-row suture-bridge technique. The authors hypothesized that there would be no significant differences in clinical outcomes and structural integrity between approaches.

Study Design:

Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3.

Methods:

This study included 56 patients who underwent arthroscopic repair of an isolated subscapularis full-thickness tear with grade II or less fatty infiltration in the subscapularis muscle with either a single-row technique (n = 31) or a double-row suture-bridge technique (n = 25). Functional outcomes were assessed with the visual analog scale (VAS) for pain, Subjective Shoulder Value (SSV), American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) score, the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) shoulder score, and active range of motion. Magnetic resonance arthrography (MRA) or computed tomographic arthrography (CTA) was performed 6 months after surgery to assess the structural integrity of the repaired tendon.

Results:

At the 2-year follow-up, all scoring parameters applied (VAS, SSV, ASES, and UCLA), subscapularis strength, and active range of motion improved significantly in both groups as compared with preoperative values (P < .001). However, there were no significant differences between groups in any of these clinical outcome measurements (VAS, 1.2 vs 1.1; SSV, 91.3 vs 91.8; ASES, 91.0 vs 91.4; UCLA, 31.9 vs 32.1). On follow-up MRA or CTA, the overall retear rate did not differ significantly between the single-row group (13%, 4 of 31) and the double-row group (12%, 3 of 25).

Conclusion:

Arthroscopic single-row repair and double-row suture-bridge repair of isolated full-thickness subscapularis tears both yielded satisfactory clinical outcomes and structural integrity with no significant differences among patients with good muscle quality.