All-Arthroscopic Supraspinatus and Infraspinatus Muscle Advancement Leads to High Healing Rate and Excellent Outcomes in Patients With Massive, Retracted Rotator Cuff Tears, Even in Patients With Pseudoparalysis.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the clinical and radiographic outcomes of an all-arthroscopic rotator cuff repair technique involving muscle advancement and double-layer lasso loop (DLLL) repair for massive, retracted posterosuperior cuff tears. METHODS: This was a retrospective case series of patients with massive, retracted posterosuperior cuff tears who underwent the all-arthroscopic muscle advancement technique from March 2017 to September 2021, with a minimum follow-up of 12 months. Key steps included suprascapular nerve release, advancement of the supraspinatus and infraspinatus muscles, and DLLL repair. Preoperative and postoperative visual analog scale score for pain, American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) shoulder score, Constant score, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) shoulder score, active range of motion, and strength were compared. Preoperative and postoperative structural radiologic characteristics were analyzed. RESULTS: We evaluated 43 shoulders in 38 patients with a mean follow-up period of 18.8 months (range, 12-55 months). Of the 43 shoulders, 4 showed repair failure (9.3% retear rate). Visual analog scale, ASES, Constant, and UCLA scores significantly improved (P < .001) in patients who showed healing on postoperative magnetic resonance imaging (n = 39). ASES, Constant, and UCLA scores were significantly better in the healed group, with 100% exceeding the minimal clinically important difference for the ASES score and UCLA score and 84.2%, for Constant score. A lower proportion of patients in the retear group achieved the minimal clinically important difference. Active range of motion in all planes significantly improved for patients who had healed repairs (P < .001). Relative abduction strength, supraspinatus strength, and infraspinatus strength were at least 90% of those on the contralateral side. The recovery rate of pseudoparalysis (7 patients) was 100%. CONCLUSIONS: All-arthroscopic muscle advancement, coupled with DLLL repair, leads to a high healing rate with excellent clinical outcomes and recovery of strength to at least 90%, even in patients with pseudoparalysis. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level IV, retrospective case series.

Does forearm referencing using a retroversion guide achieve the targeted retroversion of the humeral component in reverse shoulder arthroplasty?

BACKGROUND: Component positioning affects clinical outcomes of reverse shoulder arthroplasty, which necessitates an implantation technique that is reproducible, consistent, and reliable. This study aims to assess the accuracy and precision of positioning the humeral component in planned retroversion using a forearm referencing guide. METHODS: Computed tomography scans of 54 patients (27 males and 27 females) who underwent primary reverse shoulder arthroplasty for osteoarthritis or cuff tear arthropathy were evaluated. A standardized surgical technique was used to place the humeral stem in 15° of retroversion. Version was assessed intraoperatively visualizing the retroversion guide from above and referencing the forearm axis. Metal subtraction techniques from postoperative computed tomography images allowed for the generation of 3D models of the humerus and for evaluation of the humeral component position. Anatomical humeral plane and implant planes were defined and the retroversion 3D angle between identified planes was recorded for each patient. Accuracy and precision were assessed. A subgroup analysis evaluated differences between male and female patients. RESULTS: The humeral retroversion angle ranged from 0.9° to 22.8°. The majority (81%) of the measurements were less than 15°. Mean retroversion angle (±SD) was 9.9° ± 5.8° (95% CI 8.4°-11.5°) with a mean percent error with respect to 15° of -34% ± 38 (95% CI -23 to -44). In the male subgroup (n = 27, range 3.8°-22.5°), the mean retroversion angle was 11.9° ± 5.4° (95% CI 9.8°-14.1°) with a mean percent error with respect to 15° of -21% ± 36 (95% CI -6 to -35). In the female subgroup (n = 27, range 0.9°-22.8°), mean retroversion angle was 8.0° ± 5.5° (95% CI 5.8°-10.1°) and the mean percent error with respect to 15° was -47% ± 36 (95% CI -32 to -61). The differences between the 2 gender groups were statistically significant (P = .006). CONCLUSION: Referencing the forearm using an extramedullary forearm referencing system to position the humeral stem in a desired retroversion is neither accurate nor precise. There is a nonnegligible tendency to achieve a lower retroversion than planned, and the error is more marked in females.

Qualitative analysis of the Supraspinatus muscle fatty infiltration on MRI - Correlation of the Tangent sign with Goutallier grade at the Y view and Medial Scapular border in large retracted rotator cuff tears.

BACKGROUND: Surgically repairing rotator cuff tears with a higher extent of fatty infiltration is controversial. Current evidence supports performing rotator cuff repair in patients exhibiting Goutallier stage 3-4 fatty infiltration. However, the presence of retraction complicates accurate assessment using the Goutallier Classification, particularly on the lateral Y-view. A shift towards classifying fatty infiltration in more medial regions may enhance the precision of tissue quality quantification. The objective of this study was to analyze the uniformity of fatty infiltration within the entire supraspinatus muscle using the Goutallier Classification across three scapular Y-view sections and to examine the association between Goutallier grade, tangent sign, and modified Patte stage. METHODS: A retrospective evaluation was conducted on preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans from a consecutive series of 97 patients who had previously undergone arthroscopic rotator cuff repairs. Three supraspinatus sections on the MRI sagittal plane were identified: the lateral Y-view (section one), a medial section at the suprascapular notch anatomical landmark (section two), and a section 3 cm medial from the suprascapular notch Medial Scapular Body (section three). Goutallier grade, tangent sign, and modified Patte stage were used to evaluate fatty infiltration, muscle atrophy, and tendon retraction, respectively. RESULTS: Section one had the highest Goutallier grade, while section three had the lowest. Intra-observer rest retest reliability analysis showed excellent consistency in all sections with section one (ICC=0.920, 95% CI), section two (ICC=0.917, 95% CI), and section three (ICC=0.923, 95% CI) for Goutallier grade. Inter-observer reliability analysis also revealed excellent consistency in sections one (ICC=0.951, 95% CI), section two (ICC=0.949, 95% CI), and section three (ICC=0.922, 95% CI) for Goutallier grade. A strong correlation was observed between Goutallier grade and modified Patte stage (τb=0.43-0.56, p=0.001), and between Goutallier grade and tangent sign (τb=0.43-0.54, p=0.001) across all sections. CONCLUSION: The severity of fatty infiltration within the supraspinatus muscle belly is inconsistent, with the lateral portion being the most severe and the medial portion the least severe. Goutallier grade demonstrates a strong correlation with tangent sign and modified Patte stage. This suggests that tendon retraction results in a potential overestimation in the amount of fatty infiltration defining some tears unjustly irreparable when measuring at the traditionally described lateral Y-view position compared with 3cm medial.

Medial Scapular Body (MSB) Goutallier Classification - MRI based reliability and validity of evaluation of the Goutallier classification for grading fatty infiltration of the rotator cuff.

INTRODUCTION: The degree of atrophy and fatty infiltration of rotator cuff muscle belly is a key predictor for cuff repairability. Traditionally, Goutallier grading of fatty infiltration is assessed at sagittal scapular Y-view. Massive rotator cuff tears are associated with tendon retraction and medial retraction of cuff musculature, resulting in medialization of the muscle bulk. Thus, standard Y-view can misrepresent the region of interest and may misguide clinicians when assessing repairability. It is hypothesized that by assessing the muscle belly with multiple medial sagittal MRI sections at medial scapular body, the Medial Scapular Body - Goutallier Classification (MSB-GC) will improve reliability and repeatability giving a more representative approximation to the degree of fatty infiltration, as compared with original Y-view. METHODS: Fatty infiltration of the rotator cuff muscles were classified based on the Goutallier grade (0 to 4) at three defined sections section 1: original Y-view; section 2: level of suprascapular notch; section 3: three cm medial to suprascapular notch on MRI scans. Six sub-specialist fellowship trained shoulder surgeons, and three musculoskeletal radiologists independently evaluated deidentified MRI scans of included patients. RESULTS: Out of 80 scans, 78% (n=62) were massive cuff tears involving supraspinatus, infraspinatus and subscapularis tendon. Inter-observer reliability (consistency between observers) for Goutallier grade was excellent for all three predefined sections (range:0.87-0.95). Intra-observer reliability (repeatability) for Goutallier grade was excellent for all three sections and four rotator cuff muscles (range:0.83-0.97). There was a moderate to strong positive correlation of Goutallier grades between sections 1 and 3 and between sections 2 and 3 and these were statistically significant (p<0.001). There was a reduction in the severity of fatty infiltration on the Goutallier classification from sections 1 to 3 across all muscles. 42.5% of both supraspinatus and infraspinatus were downgraded by one, 20% of supraspinatus and 3.8% of infraspinatus were downgraded by 2 and 2.5% of supraspinatus were downgraded by 3. CONCLUSION: This study found that applying the Goutallier classification to more medial MRI sections (MSB-GC) resulted in assignment of lower grades for all rotator cuff muscles. Additionally, this method demonstrated excellent test-retest reliability and repeatability. Inclusion of a more medial view or whole scapula on MRI, especially in advanced levels of tear retraction, could be more reliable and representative for assessment of the degree of fatty infiltration within the muscle bulk that could help predict tear repairability and therefore improve clinical decision-making which should be studied further in clinical studies.