RESUMEN
Purpose: To assess the safety and report the clinical outcomes of synthetic graft augmentation using polypropylene (PP) mesh in the repair of acute Achilles tendon (AT) rupture in patients with preexisting tendinopathy. Methods: Patients who underwent open repair for acute AT rupture at our institution between April 2017 and March 2019 were retrospectively identified. The inclusion criteria were acute AT rupture in patients with preexisting tendinopathy. All patients included in the study underwent acute repair augmented by an inlay PP mesh and had 30 months' follow-up. Patient characteristics, operative details, and outcomes were analyzed. Continuous data were described by mean, standard deviation, median, and range. The Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to analyze the change in patient-reported outcome measures. The significance level was set at a P-value of .05. Results: Thirteen patients were included. There were 5 female and 8 male patients, withan average age of 52 years (range 49-56 years). No cases of rerupture or graft-related complications requiring additional treatment occurred during mean follow -up of 38 months. All patients reported good functional outcome, as shown from nonsignificant difference between the preinjury and 38-month postoperative Achilles Tendon Rupture Score (88.5 ± 2.2 vs 89.2 ± 2.2, P = .107) and the excellent postoperative American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society Ankle/Hindfoot Scale score (92.22 ± 2.2) at last follow-up. At the end of follow-up, all patients were able to perform single-legged heel rise as the noninvolved side. By average of 16 weeks, all patients returned to their preinjury activity level. Conclusions: The use of inlay PP mesh to augment the repair of acute AT rupture in patients with preexisting tendinopathy appears to be safe and effective, allowing early return to preinjury activity level with favorable clinical outcomes. Level of Evidence: Level IV, therapeutic case series.
RESUMEN
PURPOSE: We systematically reviewed the literature to compare the clinical and radiologic outcomes and retear rates of superior capsular reconstruction (SCR) using fascia lata autograft (FLA) versus human dermal allograft (HDA) in cases of massive irreparable rotator cuff tears. METHODS: Searches of Pub Med and Cochrane Library identified clinical studies addressing SCR using FLA and HDA. Two reviewers independently screened the titles, abstracts and full texts to extract data from eligible studies. Reported outcome measures were descriptively analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 6 studies with 2 study groups satisfied the inclusion criteria. The number of shoulders in the HDA group was 155, and in the FLA group, the number was 140 shoulders. The mean age at time of surgery for the HDA group and the FLA group was 60.49 years and 65.8 years, respectively, and the mean follow-up was 15.2 months and 44.6 months, respectively. Active elevation improved from of 121°-130° to 158°-160° in the HDA group and from 74.8°-133° to 130.4°-146° in the FLA group. Active external rotation improved from 36°-45° in the HDA group and from 13°-28° to 30°-43° in the FLA group. The Visual Analog Scale for pain improved from 4-6.25 to 0.38-1.7 points in the HDA group, whereas in the FLA group, it improved from 6-2.5 points. In the HDA group, American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons scores improved from 42-52 to 77.5-86.5, whereas in the FLA group scores improved from 35-54.4 to 73.7-94.3. The acromiohumeral distance improved in both groups. The retear rate was 3.4%-55% in the HDA group and 4.5%-29% % in the FLA group. CONCLUSIONS: Arthroscopic SCR for massive, irreparable rotator cuff tears using both fascia lata allograft and human dermal allograft leads to improvement in clinical outcomes and radiologic outcomes. There is a lower retear rate in fascia lata allografts. The current literature is heterogeneous and has low levels of evidence. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level IV, systematic review of level IV studies.
