AimsThe aim of this study was to investigate the outcomes of arthroscopic decompression of calcific tendinitis performed without repairing the rotator cuff defect.MethodsA total of 99 patients who underwent treatment between December 2013 and August 2019 were retrospectively reviewed. Visual analogue scale (VAS) and American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) scores were reviewed pre- and postoperatively according to the location, size, physical characteristics, and radiological features of the calcific deposits. Additionally, the influence of any residual calcific deposits shown on postoperative radiographs was explored. The healing rate of the unrepaired cuff defect was determined by reviewing the 29 patients who had follow-up MRIs.ResultsStatistically significant improvement from pre- to postoperation was seen in all VAS and ASES scores for each group, but no statistical differences were seen between the postoperative scores according to the differences in the features of the calcific deposits. When residual calcification was observed postoperatively, the mean ASES and VAS (rest) scores improved significantly to 95.0 (SD 5.6) and 0.0 (SD 0.0), respectively (p = 0.006 and p < 0.001), and did not differ from those who had the complete removal. Of 29 patients who had follow-up MRIs, six (20.7%) showed signs of an interstitial tear. This group’s mean postoperative ASES and VAS (rest) scores improved to excellent levels of 96.0 (SD 3.7) and 0.0 (SD 0.0), respectively, and were similar to those of the 23 patients with normal MRI appearances.ConclusionArthroscopic removal of calcific deposits without repairing the rotator cuff defect resulted in significant improvement in function and pain level, regardless of the deposit’s location, size, type, and whether or not complete excision was achieved. Despite leaving the defects unrepaired, in the limited number of patients with follow-up MRIs, 23 of 29 patients (79.3%) showed good healing, and the rest, who had persistent signs of interstitial defects on the MRIs, still had excellent outcomes. The removal of calcific deposits without repairing the cuff defects provided excellent outcomes.Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2023;105-B(6):663–667.
Background Isolated vocal cord palsy resulting hoarseness after shoulder surgery in beach-chair position had not been reported in literature to date. The purpose of this study was to review its incidence in our patient cohort, and identify any risk factors that may predispose the patient to the injury.Methods There were 10215 operative shoulder cases from January 2010 to December 2017. Inclusion criteria was any post-operative patients, whose operation was performed under general anesthesia in beach-chair position, who had the related symptoms, but the diagnoses had to be confirmed by otorhinolaryngologists with laryngoscopy studies. The affected patients’ clinical notes were retrospectively reviewed with the particular interest in the operative times, and the peri-operative cervical spine radiographs. The degree of cervical spine lordosis was assessed using a method described in literature, in which ‘absolute rotation angle’ (ARA) was measured. Results There were 8 reported cases of vocal cord injury in total (0.08%). Four were male patients and four were arthroscopic cases. The mean age was 59.4 ± 11.9 years old. No particular difficulties with positioning or intubation were documented. The average duration of anesthetic times was 141 minutes. On peri-operative cervical spine radiographs, the average lordosis was 8.2° (1.5° kyphosis - 21° lordosis), and except for one patient, all had ‘non-lordotic’ type curvatures. All but one patient had recovered fully with observation and expectant management, with the average recovery time being 19 weeks (range: 2 weeks to 1 year). Only patient who had not recovered during our 2-year follow-up period, had a ‘sigmoidal’ type cervical spine and was also managed with observation only.Conclusions The incidence of vocal cord injury with beach-chair positioning at our institution was low at 0.08%. The possible risk factors include long duration of the procedure and ‘non-lordotic’ cervical spine, as demonstrated by the trend in our study. Although rare, vocal cord injury has varying duration of recovery time, in the worst-case scenario being permanent, therefore it needs to be avoided by taking utmost care during positioning of the patient in beach-chair. Level of Evidence Level IV, case series
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