Double-needle ultrasound-guided percutaneous treatment of rotator cuff calcific tendinitis: tips & tricks

Abstract

Rotator cuff calcific tendinitis is a very common disease and may result in a very painful shoulder. Aetiology of this disease is still poorly understood. When symptoms are mild, this disease may be treated conservatively. Several treatment options have been proposed. Among them, ultrasound-guided procedures have been recently described. All procedures use one or two needles to inject a fluid, to dissolve calcium and to aspirate it. In the present article, we review some tips and tricks that may be useful to improve performance of an ultrasound-guided double-needle procedure.

RE: A Simple Technique to Restore Needle Patency During Percutaneous Lavage and Aspiration of Calcific Rotator Cuff Tendinopathy

“…However, withdrawing the clogged needle into the overlying deltoid muscle means that the calcific debris is deployed within muscle fibers immediately around the subacromial‐subdeltoid bursa. We prefer to avoid any similar events because migration of calcium within the subacromial‐subdeltoid has been reported to influence the occurrence of postprocedure bursitis [5].…”

Ultrasound-guided percutaneous injection to treat de Quervain’s disease using three different techniques: a randomized controlled trial

“…Sterile lubricant contact gel (Glissen® 12.5 g, Pharm. Fabrik Montavit Ges.m.b.H., Absam, Austria) was used to assure a perfect contact between the ultrasound probe and the patient's skin [20]. The wrist was placed on the table in an intermediate position between pronation and supination.…”

KALK study: ultrasound guided needling and lavage (barbotage) with steroid injection versus sham barbotage with and without steroid injection - protocol for a randomized, double-blinded, controlled, multicenter study

“…It consists of needle aspiration and lavage of the calcium deposit. Both single and double needle procedures have been described [5–9]. Good short- and medium-term results have been reported from several cohort studies [6, 7, 10] .…”