Patients With Impingement Syndrome With and Without Rotator Cuff Tears Do Well 20 Years After Arthroscopic Subacromial Decompression

Clinical and structural outcome 22 years after acromioplasty without tendon repair in patients with subacromial pain and cuff tears

“…Studies with long-term results of more than 10 years after acromioplasty in patients with cuff tears are few and the present study is to our knowledge the only one reporting 22-year results with structural outcome included 22,39 . Jaeger et al 22 recently published 20-year results of Constant score and reoperations after acromioplasty in 95 patients with both intact and torn rotator cuffs, but the study includes no analysis of joint or rotator cuff status and the follow-up rate was only 57.2%. Their outcome, defined as a measure of successful treatment, was a combined endpoint of relative Constant score above 70 and no reoperation.…”

“…The structural deterioration is likely to be a slow process over several years and the clinical significance is largely unknown. The follow-up period in studies on conservative treatment or subacromial decompression without repair is generally of short-to medium term 10,11,15,26,33,41,50 and long-term studies that include structural changes of the shoulder joint are lacking 22 .…”

The Coracoacromial Ligament: Anatomy, Function, and Clinical Significance

“…28 Partial resection of the CAL was performed on all patients, and mean relative Constant scores at 20-year follow-up were 100.9%. 28 Partial resection of the CAL has been reported elsewhere without any apparent postoperative complications related to its release. 13,29 Interestingly, the CAL has been shown to reform spontaneously with the same orientation, gross appearance, and viscoelastic properties within a few years of release.…”

Rotator Cuff Tears : Short- and long-term aspects on treatment outcome

“…If a cuff tear is caused or aggravated by abrasion of the cuff against the underside of the acromion, an acromioplasty could theoretically have a positive effect. Jaeger et al published a 20 year follow-up of acromioplasty as sole treatment for a mix of intact tendons and partial and full-thickness tears in 2015 133 . They identified 166 randomly selected patients out of 302 eligible candidates, but only 95 (57 %) were examined.…”