Arthroscopic Rotator Cuff Repair

There is a controversy as to whether rotator cuff repairs done arthroscopically should be done with a single row of suture anchors or two rows, i.e., double row.  Investigators promoting the double-row technique have yet to prove a benefit and justify the cost.  Among the most experienced arthroscopic surgeons in the world, Stephen J. Snyder, M.D., Southern California Orthopaedic Institute, and associates just published their study, “Arthroscopic repair of medium-to-large rotator cuff tears with a triple-loaded, medially-based, single row technique augmented with marrow vents[1]”( for bleeding to occur adjacent to the repair site). Healing of the rotator cuffs was confirmed in a median of two-and-half years with 92% healing remaining intact, i.e., healed. The results are very good with only 8% failure rate of the actual repair.  Making sure to have bleeding around  the repair site may also compensate for the reduced amount of suture holding the tendon in place. This, of course, needs to be independently studied. The importance of this is that a surgeon can cut the number of anchors used and cut the costs of surgery dramatically also by reducing the difficulty of the surgical technique.  Arthroscopic technique costs a huge amount when taking care of torn rotator cuffs without any proved advantage so far other than cutting down visible scar.