Objective:

To compare two surgical techniques to address the painful shoulder syndrome with partial or total supraspinous tendon tear.

Methods:

Patients with a diagnosis of complete supraspinous tendon tear who required surgical repair and subacromial decompression. One group was treated with acromioplasty and tendon plasty using an open approach (G1), and the second one underwent arthroscopy with tendon plasty using a minimally-invasive approach (G2). The surgical approach was not decided at random, but was based on the surgeon's preference. The major outcome was functional assessment at postoperative month 12 using the UCLA scale. The variables compared were the operative time, anesthesia time, intraoperative bleeding, and immediate complications. Means and standard deviations were analyzed for the quantitative variables, and percentages for the qualitative variables. The U Mann-Whitney test was used to compare the ranges of non-related groups.

Results:

Thirty-two patients were included in G1, and 13 in G2. No differences were found in age, gender, comorbid conditions, and the time elapsed before surgical treatment. G2 patients were found to have better function according to the UCLA scale (p = 0.032). No differences were reported in the operative time (60 versus 80 minutes, p = 0.12), anesthesia time (120 versus 97 minutes, p = 0.12), total bleeding (50 ml in both groups, p = 0.09), or length of stay (2 versus 1, p = 0.81). No immediate complications were reported.

Conclusions:

Arthroscopic repair plus a minimally-invasive approach to treat subacromial impingement and supraspinous tendon tear seems to provide better clinical outcomes based on function recovery and patient satisfaction.