• 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.

• 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.1 no.2
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• pp.266-277
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• 1998

Forty-nine partial thickness rotator cuff tears underwent arthroscopic debridement or repair, and were followed up for a minimum of two years. Follow-up evaluations of the results were completed using a detailed functional questionnaire which was comprised of a rating of the UCLA shoulder scale and return to the previous sports activity and job. The average age of the 49 study patients was 46.5 years(range, 14 to 67 years). The patients were divided into four groups on the basis of the onset of the patient's symptoms. Thirty-five patients(72%) had partial tearing only on the articular surface, six(12%) on the bursal surface, and eight(16%) on both surfaces. Group I consisted of 21 patients with an average age of 56.7. Partial tearing in group I was attributed to the impingement syndrome. In group II, partial tearing of the rotator cuff was related to the anterior instability of the shoulder. This group included 9 patients with an average age of 27.9. In group III, all of the 8 patients were overhead athletes with an average age of 21.8. In this group, no isolated instances of significant trauma were related to the development of the shoulder pain. In group IV, 11 patients noted that a significant traumatic event preceded the onset of their pain. The average age of the patients was 34.9. Overall, 82% of the patients demonstrated satisfactory results and 18% revealed unsatisfactory results. The worst UCLA score and rate of return to the prior activity was noted in group III. In conclusion, partial thickness rotator cuff tear can be caused by subacromial impingement, instability, repetitive microtrauma, and macrotrauma. Arthroscopic debridement of partial tear of the rotator cuff provides a favorable outcome except in overhead athletes.

• 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.22 no.3
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• pp.139-145
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• 2019

Background: The present study was undertaken to evaluate the relationship between location of the rotator cuff tear and shape of the subacromial spur. Methods: Totally, 80 consecutive patients who underwent arthroscopic repair for partial thickness rotator cuff tear were enrolled for the study. Bigliani's type of the acromion, type of subacromial spur, and location of partial thickness tear of the rotator cuff were evaluated using plain X-ray and magnetic resonance imaging. We then compared the groups of no spur with spur, and heel with traction spur. Results: Of the 80 cases, 25 cases comprised the no spur group, and 55 cases comprised the spur group. There was a significant difference in type of tear (p=0.0004) between these two groups. Bursal side tears were significantly greater (odds ratio=6.000, p=0.0007) in the spur group. Subjects belonging to the spur group were further divided into heel (38 cases) and traction spur (17 cases). Comparing these two groups revealed significant differences only in the type of tear (p=0.0001). Furthermore, the heel spur had significantly greater bursal side tear (odds ratio=29.521, p=0.0005) as compared to traction spur. Conclusions: The heel spur is more associated to bursal side tear than the traction spur, whereas the traction spur associates greater to the articular side tear.

• 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.17 no.2
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• pp.91-100
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• 2014

Partial-thickness rotator cuff tear (PTRCT) is not single disease entity but one phase of disease spectrum. Symptoms of PTRCT vary from being asymptomatic to severe pain leading to deterioration in quality of life. Pathogenesis of degenerative PTRCT is multifactorial. Whereas articular sided PTRCT is usually caused by internal causes, both internal and external causes have important role in bursal sided PTRCT. A detailed history, clinical examination and magnetic resonance angiography are used in the diagnosis of PTRCT. Treatment of PTRCT is chosen based on age, demands of patients, causes and depth of tear. In most patients, non-operative treatment should be initiated. Whereas debridement can be done for less than 6 mm of articular sided PTRCT and in less than 3 mm of bursal sided PTRCT, repair techniques should be considered for higher grade PTRCT than that. Although the effect of acromioplasty is not clear, acromioplasty may be performed when the extrinsic causes appear to be the cause of tear. Either transtendon repair technique or repair after tear completion provided satisfactory clinical outcomes in treatment of articular sided PTRCT.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.69-73
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• 2011

Although the incidence of partial-thickness rotator cuff tears (PTRCTs) was reported to be from 13% to 32% in cadaveric studies, the actual incidence is not yet known. The causes of PTRCTs can be explained by either extrinsic or intrinsic theories. Studies suggest that intrinsic degeneration within the rotator cuff is the principal factor in the pathogenesis of rotator cuff tears. Extrinsic causes include subacromial impingement, acute traumatic events, and repetitive microtrauma. However, acromially initiated rotator cuff pathology does not occur and extrinsic impingement does not cause pathology on the articular side of the tendon. An arthroscopic classification system has been developed based on the location and depth of the tear. These include the articular, bursal, and intratendinous areas. Both ultrasound and magnetic resonance image are reported with a high accuracy of 87%. Conservative treatment, such as subacromial or intra-articular injections and suprascapular nerve block with or without block of the articular branches of the circumflex nerve, should be considered prior to operative treatment for PTRCTs.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.82 no.6
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• pp.1366-1387
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• 2021

The interpretation of MRI of partial-thickness rotator cuff tears can be challenging. This review describes the anatomic considerations for diagnosing partial-thickness tears, especially supraspinatus and infraspinatus tendon and summarizes the classification of partial-thickness rotator cuff tears, as well as provides an overview on partial-thickness tears with delamination.