Osteoarthritis progression of the shoulder: A long-term follow-up after mini-open rotator cuff repair:

Objective:This study aimed to investigate whether (1) the primary repair of rotator cuff tears can prevent the progression of osteoarthritis (OA) and (2) the quality of postoperative cuff integrity affects the incidence of osteoarthritic changes.Methods:A total of 86 patients treated with mini-open repair for rotator cuff tears over a minimum of 10 years of follow-up (mean ± standard deviation 11.1 ± 1.0 years) were retrospectively analyzed. Preoperative and postoperative radiographs of the affected and unaffected sides were compared, and the degree of OA was evaluated using the Samilson and Prieto classification. Magnetic resonance imaging was used to evaluate cuff integrity, classify patients into good and poor cuff integrity groups, and compare the degree of OA between the two groups.Results:OA deteriorated either significantly or to a similar degree on both sides postoperatively. However, OA progressed in significantly more cases on the affected side. A comparison between the aforementioned cuff integ...