Ultrasound imaging has been used to evaluate various shoulder pathologies, whereas, quantification of the rotator cuff muscle stiffness using shear wave elastography (SWE) has not been verified. The purpose of this study was to investigate the reliability and feasibility of SWE measurements for the quantification of supraspinatus (SSP) muscle elasticity. Thirty cadaveric shoulders (18 intact and 12 with torn rotator cuff) were used. Intra- and inter-observer reliability was evaluated on an established SWE technique for measuring the SSP muscle elasticity. To assess the effect of overlying soft tissues above the SSP muscle, SWE values were measured with the transducer placed on the skin, on the subcutaneous fat after removing the skin, on the trapezius muscle after removing the subcutaneous fat, and directly on the SSP muscle. In addition, SWE measurements on 4 shoulder positions (0°, 30°, 60°, and 90° abduction) were compared in those with/without rotator cuff tears. Intra- and inter-observer reliability of SWE measurements were excellent for all regions in SSP muscle. Also, removing the overlying soft tissue showed no significant difference on SWE values measured in the SSP muscle. The SSP muscle with 0° abduction showed large SWE values, whereas, shoulders with large-massive tear showed smaller variation throughout the adduction-abduction positions. SWE is a reliable and feasible tool for quantitatively assessing the SSP muscle elasticity. This study also presented SWE measurements on the SSP muscle under various shoulder abduction positions which might help characterize patterns in accordance to the size of rotator cuff tears.

Introduction Pre -surgical measurement of supraspinatus muscle extensibility would be important for rotator cuff repair. The purpose of the present study was to explore the potential feasibility of a shear wave ultrasound electrograph (SWE) based method, combined with B-mode ultrasound, to non-invasively measure in vivo stiffness of supraspinatus muscle, and thus obtaining the key information on supraspinatus muscle extensibility. Materials and Methods Our investigation consisted of 2 steps. First, we evaluated orientation of the supraspinatus muscle fiber on cadaveric shoulders without rotator cuff tear in order to optimize the ultrasound probe positions for SWE imaging. Second, we investigated the feasibility of quantifying the normal supraspinatus muscle stiffness by SWE in vivo. Results The supraspinatus muscle was divided into four anatomical regions, namely anterior superficial (AS), posterior superficial (PS), anterior deep (AD) and posterior deep (PD) regions. SWE was evaluated at each of these regions. SWE stiffness on AD, AS, PD, and PS were measured as 40.0±12.4, 34.0±9.9, 32.7±12.7, 39.1±15.7 kPa, respectively. Conclusions SWE combined with B-Mode ultrasound image may be a feasible method to quantify local tissue stiffness of the rotator cuff muscles.

Background: It has been demonstrated biomechanically that 25% is a critical size defect of the glenoid. However, a recent clinical study reported that a bone loss between 13.5% and 20% (subcritical bone loss) led to impairment of quality of life but not a recurrence of instability. Purpose: To clarify whether a subcritical bone loss exists in assessing a Hill-Sachs lesion via a disease-specific quality of life questionnaire. Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: Fifty patients (mean age, 27 years) with <25% glenoid defect who were treated with arthroscopic Bankart repair for recurrent anterior dislocation were assessed at a mean follow-up of 28 months. All had an on-track Hill-Sachs lesion. The Western Ontario Shoulder Instability Index (WOSI) and Rowe scores were used for the clinical evaluation. The Hill-Sachs interval was measured on 3-dimensional computed tomography images and divided by the glenoid track width, defined as the Hill-Sachs occupancy (in percentages). The glenoid track was divided into 4 zones based on the percentage of the Hill-Sachs occupancy: zone 1, <25%; zone 2, 25% to <50%; zone 3, 50% to <75%; and zone 4, ≥75%. Results: The recurrence rate was 6% (3 of 50 shoulders). The Rowe score significantly improved from 45.2 ± 4.7 (mean ± SD) preoperatively to 92.3 ± 6.5 at the final follow-up ( P < .05). The WOSI score also significantly increased from 46.6% ± 19.3% preoperatively to 72.3% ± 21.0% at the final follow-up ( P < .001). The WOSI score of patients in zone 4 (peripheral-track lesion) (n = 10) was significantly lower than those in the other zones (central-track lesion) ( P = .0379). Of the 10 patients with the peripheral-track lesion, 5 had a <40% WOSI score, similar to the preoperative WOSI score (46.6%). Conclusion: Patients with on-track lesions can be divided into 2 subgroups: those with the Hill-Sachs occupancy ≥75% (peripheral-track lesion) showed significantly worse WOSI score without recurrent instability events than those with the Hill-Sacks occupancy <75% (central-track lesion).

Background The purpose of this study was to assess the clinical outcomes of patients with anterior shoulder instability who underwent surgical treatment according to the on-track/off-track concept. Methods We retrospectively analyzed patients who underwent surgical treatment according to the glenoid track concept with a minimum of 2 years’ follow-up. By use of preoperative 3-dimensional computed tomography images, surgical options were selected: arthroscopic Bankart repair (ABR) for patients with on-track lesions and the Latarjet procedure or ABR with the remplissage procedure for patients with off-track lesions. The recurrence rate was assessed at 2-year follow-up after surgery. Results Among 92 patients enrolled in this study, 81 had on-track lesions and underwent ABR. Of the 11 patients with off-track lesions, 1 underwent ABR with the remplissage procedure and 10 underwent the Latarjet procedure. Recurrences occurred in 4 patients treated by ABR (5%), whereas no recurrences were observed in off-track cases treated by the remplissage or Latarjet procedure. Conclusion Clinical application of the on-track/off-track concept for determining surgical options in preoperative planning seems to be useful to prevent recurrent instability after surgery.

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