• Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.209-217
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• 2014

Most studies on the pathophysiology, natural history, diagnosis by imaging and outcomes after operative or nonoperative treatment of rotator cuff tear have focused on those of full-thickness tears, resulting in limited knowledge of partial-thickness rotator cuff tears. However, a partial-thickness tear of the rotator cuff is a common disorder and can be the cause of persistent pain and dysfunction of the shoulder joint in the affected patients. Recent updates in the literatures shows that the partial-thickness tears are not merely mild form of full-thickness tears. Over the last decades, an improved knowledge of pathophysiology and surgical techniques of partial-thickness tears has led to more understanding of the significance of this tear and better outcomes. In this review, we discuss the current concept of management for partial-thickness tears in terms of the pathogenesis, natural history, nonoperative treatment, and surgical outcomes associated with the commonly used repair techniques.

• Journal of the Korean Arthroscopy Society
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.126-130
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• 2002

Purpose : To evaluate the diagnostic efficiency of the subacromial bursoscopy with glenohumeral air infusion technique for detection of the full thickness tear which we used to think as a partial thickness tear, because it was hidden by bursal tissue. Materials and methods : We chose 65 cases and divided them into 2 groups. The group I was 18 cases with partial thickness rotator cuff tears on glenohumeral arthroscopic evaluation, and the group 2 was 37 cases with full thickness rotator cuff tears which were repaired. We inflated the glenohumeral Joint with 50-100ml of air and observed air bubble leakage simultaneously on bursoscopy. Results : In group I, we could detect air leakage in 3 cases and found that it was full thickness tear. In group II, 2 cases revealed too much air leakage proved that it was incomplete repair and was in need of additional suture. Conclusion : Air infusion technique is though to be a valuable method in differentiation between the partial and full thickness tear and for evaluation of the security of the repair.

• The Journal of Korean Orthopaedic Ultrasound Society
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.53-59
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• 2013

Purpose: The aim of this study wasto evaluate the comparison of CT arthrography and ultrasonography, confirmed by the arthroscopic finding in patients with rotator cuff disease. Materials and Methods: We evaluated fifty seven patients with rotator cuff disease underwent CTA and arthroscopy, and twenty eight patients had taken ultrasonographyadditionally. The diagnostic value and prediction for tear size between CTA and ultrasonography were evaluated, as compared to arthroscopic findings. Results: CTA showed a sensitivity of 86.2% and a specificity of 100% in full thickness tear ofsupraspinatus, a sensitivity of 58.3% and a specificity of 87.8% in partial-thickness tear. CTA demonstrated good diagnostic value for full thickness tear, but there was relatively lower value for partial-thickness tear. Ultrasonography showed a sensitivity of 84.6% and a specificity of 86.7% for diagnosing in full thickness tear, a sensitivity of 84.6% and a specificity of 73.3% in partial-thickness tear. Ultrasonography provided good diagnostic value, but, there is lesser accurate result for prediction of tear size. Conclusion: CTA showedgood diagnostic tool of detection full-thickness tear of rotator cuff disease and predicting of tear size. Comparing with ultrasonography, CTA was inferior for detection of partial-thickness tear, but, provided better estimation for tear size.

• Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.55-62
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• 2002

Purpose : To compare and analyze the results of arthroscopic subacromial decompression and rotator cuff repair between partial rotator cuff tear and complete rotator cuff tear. Material and Methods : The authors studied 42 patients of rotator cuff tear with operation and followed over one year at Dankook university hospital from September, 1998 to March, 2001 The patient average age is 53 years and follow up period is 23 months (12-42mon1hs). We obtained 22 cases in the partial rotator cuff tear group and 20 cases in the complete rotator cuff tear group. In all cases, we used ASES methods to evaluated pain scale and function. Result : In the last follow up patients, the pain scale is decreased from 7.2 to 0.9 (ASES method : 34 to 91) in the partial rotator cuff tear group and from 7.6 to 1.2 (ASES method . 29 to 88) in the complete rotator cuff tear group, but there was no evidence of statistical difference between two groups (P>0.05). The range of motion after operation were increased in two groups. Excellent to good results were obtained 93％ and 95％ patients had pain relief and satisfied function. Conclusion : Arthroscopic subacromial decompression and arthroscopic rotator cuff repair showed good results for both of (ult-thickness and partial thickness rotator cuff tear patients in pain relief and improving the function.

• Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.72-79
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• 2003

Purpose: To compare the results of arthroscopic rotator cuff repair and subacromial decompression in partial thickness rotator cuff tear (PTRCT) with those in full thickness rotator cuff tear (FTRCT). Subjects and method: Of the 46 patients who were rested of the rotator cuff tear based on the operational findings, 42 patients who were able to receive a serial follow-up for 2 years were selected as the study subjects. The average age of the patients at the time of the operation was 55 years, and the mean duration of the follow-up was 34 months. The subjects included 22 cases of PTRCT and 20 cases of FTRCT. In terms of rotator cuff repair, the average number of tendon to tendon repair (TTR) was 1 in both PTRCT and FTRCT, and that of tendon to bone repair (TBR) was 1 and 3 in PTRCT and FTRCT, respectively. The average number of use of suture anchor was 1 and 2 in PTRCT and FTRCT, respectively. The level of shoulder pain and function of the subjects were measured using shoulder functional evaluation score of American shoulder and elbow society (ASES score) at before and 2 years following the operation. Results: At the final follow-up following the operation, PTRCT group showed changes in scores from 7.2 to 0.9 on average pain score and 34 to 91 on ASES score, whereas FTRCT group showed changes in scores from 7.6 to 1.2 on pain score and 29 to 88 on ASES score. There were no significant differences between the two groups (P > 0.05). The average range of motion of shoulder significantly increased in both groups at the final follow-up in comparison with the pre-operative time point. The evaluation at the final follow-up showed that 93% of the total subjects showed good or excellent results, and 95％ showed satisfactory results from the procedure with regard to pain reduction and functional outcomes. Two cases of the 3 fair results were caused by acromioclavicular arthritis. Conclusion: It may be anticipated that arthroscopic rotator cuff repair and subacromial decompression may bring satisfactory post-operative outcomes in both PTRCT and FTRCT on pain relief and functional recovery. However, careful preoperative examination of the acromioclavicular joint is critical to avoid failures of these procedures.

• Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.27-32
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• 2007

Purpose: To investigate the validity of positive signs of supraspinatus test. Materials and Methods: The empty can test and full can test were performed on 200 shoulders which were diagnosed with magnetic resonance imaging or surgical findings as full thickness tear, partial thickness tear and no tear. Presence of pain, weakness, pain or weakness, and both pain and weakness were recorded as positive signs separately. The two tests with positive signs were compared and analyzed. Results: Pain and weakness were severity-dependent, and the empty-can test had a higher incidence of pain. The sensitivities of the two supraspinatus tests in all positive signs were higher when including partial-thickness tears in the tear group; however, their specificities were higher when excluding partial-thickness tears. The sensitivities of an empty-can test in 'pain', 'pain or weakness', 'both pain and weakness' were higher than those of the full-can test, otherwise, the specificity of the full-can test for 'pain' and 'pain or weakness' were higher. Concordance rate between 'pain or weakness' and 'pain' was the highest in all categorization. Conclusion: Both empty can and full can test were valuable for detecting torn rotator cuff.

• Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.73-82
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• 2006

Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of CT arthrography (CTA) in the assessment of various shoulder pathologies, compared with MR arthrography (MRA) and MRI with arthroscopic correlation. Materials and Methods: CTA in 84 patients, MRA in 70 patients, and MRI in 27 patients were obtained. A radiologist interpreted each image for 5 pathologies: Bankart, SLAP, Hill-Sachs lesion, full-thickness, and partial-thickness rotator cuff tear. Detailed arthroscopic reports were compared with CTA, MRA, and MRI. The sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, and accuracy were calculated. The agreement between each diagnostic modality and arthroscopy was calculated. Diagnostic efficacy was assessed by the areas under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Results: The diagnostic values of all three imaging groups were comparable to each other for Bankart, SLAP, Hills-Sachs, and full-thickness cuff tear lesions, but those of CTA were lower than MRI and MRA for partial-thickness cuff tears. The areas under the ROC curves for CTA, MRA, and MRI were not significantly different for all pathologies, except for partial-thickness cuff tears. Conclusion: CTA was equally competent to MRA or MRI in demonstrating Bankart, Hill-Sachs lesions, SLAP, and full thickness rotator cuff tears but not as efficient in diagnosing partial thickness rotator cuff tears.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.77-82
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• 2014

Objectives Adhesive capsulitis (AC) is a restricted shoulder range of motion. Rotator cuff disease (RCD) has been believed to be a major etiologic factor of AC, however, how soon is the development time from RCD to AC (DTRA) has not been elucidated. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the correlation between the ultrasonographic characteristics of RCD and the DTRA. Methods Total 40 patients who were diagnosed as AC were recruited. The clinical characteristics of RCD were diagnosed by ultrasonography and classified with the Southern California Orthopedic Institute for Rotator Cuff Classification. The correlation was analyzed with Mann-Whitney U test and one-way analysis of variance. Results 60% of full thickness tear and 40% of partial thickness tear patients (10 male and 30 female, mean age of $54.0{\pm}8.4$ years) and 38% of bursitis and 21% of neovascularization were observed. The mean value of DTRA was $74.8{\pm}131.3$ days. There were no correlation between DTRA and gender (p=0.63), location of the partial tear (p=0.63), the severity of the partial thickness tear (p=0.63), full thickness tear (p=0.66) and completeness of the tear (p=0.16). The presence of bursitis or neovascularization was not associated with DTRA (p=0.60, p=0.61). Conclusions Although RCD is a major etiologic factor of AC, the severity, the type of RCD and the presence of bursitis and neovascularization were not statistically correlated with the DTRA in our study. Comprehensive consideration about etiologic factor analysis of AC will be needed with prospective study design for future study.

• Journal of Korean Orthopaedic Sports Medicine
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.50-57
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• 2006

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the tendon healing of arthroscopic repair in full-thickness supraspinatus tears. We evaluate the effectiveness of the arthroscopic repair of full-thickness supraspinatus tears by assessing functional improvement. Materials and Methods: Thirty consecutive full-thickness supraspinatus tears were repaired arthroscopically in 19 patients with a one row of anchor and 11 patients with two rows of anchors. Patients ranged in age from 51 to 79 years (average 63 years). Average follow-up was 16 month (range, 12 to 28 months). To evaluate the effectiveness of the arthroscopic repair of full-thickness supraspinatus tears by assessing functional improvement, we calculate the Constant, ASES, UCLA scores. The 30 patients had either an MR Arthrogram (25 cases) or an MRI (5 cases), performed between 5 months and 20 months (mean 10 months) after surgery. Results: The cuff was healed in 21/30 cases (70%) and partially torn in 3 cases (10%) after the arthroscopic repair of full-thickness supraspinatus tear. Although the supraspinatus tendon was totally torn to the tuberosity in 6 cases(20%) after the arthroscopic repair, the size of the tear was smaller than the initial in 5 cases. The Constant score improved from an average of $55.7{\pm}7.1$ points preoperatively to $77.7{\pm}9.7$ points at the last follow-up (p<0.001), and the average ASES score improved from $39.2{\pm}7.4\;to\;72.4{\pm}12.6$ (p<0.001), and the average UCLA score improved from $17.9{\pm}2.2\;to\;26.8{\pm}5.0$ (p<0.001). Strength of elevation was significantly better $(7.1kgs{\pm}2.4)$ in the shoulders with a healed tendon that in those with an total or partial re-tear tendon $(4.5kgs{\pm}1.0)$ (p<0.05). Factors adversely affecting tendon healing were increasing age, Only 41.7% of the repairs completely healed in patients over 65 years (p<0.05). Conclusion: Arthroscopic repair of isolated full-thickness tear of the supraspinatus leads to completely healing in 70% of the cases. Total or partial re-tear of the repaired rotator cuff is associated with a decreased strength. Older patients had significantly lower healing rates.

• Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.99-107
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• 2003

Disorders of the shoulder in which conservative management is indicated as a primary treatment include idiopathic frozen shoulder, atraumatic instability. acute calcific tendinitis , subacromial impingement syndrome, partial thickness or small full thickness tear of the rotator cuff, and chronic rotator cuff tear in elderly population. Aside from medication and various physical modalities used for relief of pain, the mainstay of orthopaedic rehabilitation consists of stretching of the tendons and capsulologamentous complex, and strengtnening of rotator cuff muscles as well as surrounding muscles. However, orthopaedic rehabilitation in chronically painful conditions of the shoulder differs in detail according to the specific diseases or injuries, And it is important to make the rehabilitation program that can be undertaken by the patients rather than adhering to a fixed schedule. Also the program should be changed as the condition of the patient improves or deteriorates. Nevertheless there are basic rules of stretching and strengthening , which should always be observed in applying orthopaedic rehabilitation treatment.