OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the results in patients who have undergone arthroscopic debridement of massive and irreparable injury of the rotator cuff. METHODS: 27 patients were operated in the period from 2003 to 2007, during which 22 of them were evaluated. The procedure used consisted of arthroscopic debridement of the related tendons of the residual limb, bursectomy, acromial osteophyte removal, and eventually, biceps tenotomy and tuberoplasty. RESULTS: All patients showed involvement of the supraspinatus and infraspinatus tendons in the preoperative stage. In the postoperative evaluation, 14 patients had an teres minor muscle, and 3 had partial tears of the subscapularis tendon. There was an improvement in the UCLA criteria from 15 preoperatively to 31 postoperatively. There was no improvement in muscular strength, but there was a reduction in the pain. CONCLUSION: Arthroscopic debridement is a recommended procedure for elderly people with irreparable rotator cuff rupture, good ROM, low functional demand, and whose main objective is to diminish pain.
Debridement; Arthroscopy; Rotator Cuff; Bursitis
