Significant Improvement in Pain and ASES Scores After Partial Thickness Rotator Cuff Repair with Augmentation Using a Xenograft Collagen Bioinductive Implant
Introduction: Rotator cuff tears (RCT) range from partial thickness to full thickness tears and are common problems creating significant pain and morbidity among sufferers. Even with the increasing pr..
Introduction: Rotator cuff tears (RCT) range from partial thickness to full thickness tears and are common problems creating significant pain and morbidity among sufferers. Even with the increasing prevalence of partial thickness RCTs, much of the literature focuses on full-thickness RCTs and treatment. Partial thickness RCTs are unique and affect a wide range of patients. Furthermore, a significant percentage of partial thickness RCT’s, up to 35%, propagate to full-thickness RCT’s. Accepted treatments for partial thickness RCT’s include arthroscopic debridement, conversion repairs, and in-situ transtendon repairs. While all have been shown to benefit some patients, none has shown significant outcome benefits over the others. Due to the lack of literature on management of partial thickness RCTs and the fact that one treatment option has not proven itself superior to the others, we looked at the treatment of partial thickness RCT with augmentation using a xenograft collagen bioinductive implant.Methods: Using data collected from a single surgeon, we evaluated both visual analog scale (VAS) pain scores as well as ASES (American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons) functional scores pre-operatively and at 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months post rotator cuff repair using a xenograft collagen implant.Results: Pre-operative VAS scores averaged 6.03 and followed a nearly linear decline to 2.08 at the 6 month post-operative visit. ASES functional scores pre-operatively averaged 35.49 and followed a linear progression to reach 69.49 at 6 months post-op, a 95% improvement.Conclusions: Using the xenograft collagen implant is a novel treatment option for the management of partial thickness rotator cuff tears. It provides a buttress to the rotator cuff and dissipates strain at the injury site allowing time for healing of the partial thickness tear while incorporating into the tendon itself creating more robust rotator cuff tissue.