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Mode of Failure for Rotator Cuff Repair with Suture Anchors Identified at Revision Surgery.

Cummins, Murrell·J Shoulder Elbow Surg·2003·385 citations·Shoulder & Elbow
DOI·PubMed
SummaryAbstract on PubMed →

This prospective study followed 342 suture-anchor rotator cuff repairs by a single surgeon. It asked one question: when these repairs fail, where mechanically do they fail? Mode of failure was recorded systematically at revision surgery and compared with the original repair.

Study Snapshot

Design
Prospective cohort
Blinding: Open-label
Setting: Single-surgeon practice, two centers
Funding: Industry (Mitek)
Objective
Determine the primary mode of mechanical failure of suture-anchor rotator cuff repairs at revision surgery
Outcome(s)
Mode of mechanical failure identified at revision surgery
Subjects
342 repairs; 22 revisions; 81 imaged
Inclusion
  • Symptomatic rotator cuff tear
  • Suture-anchor repair by single surgeon
  • Revision or 2-year imaging follow-up
Exclusion
  • Deceased or severely demented (imaging subset)
Follow-up
Imaging at mean 37 months (range 20-63)
Statistics
Fisher exact testPaired t testWilcoxon rank sumANOVA

Key Findings

  • Tendon pulling through the sutures was the dominant failure mode in 19 of 22 revision cases (P < .001). The sutures, knots, and anchors were intact but no longer holding tendon, pointing to the tendon-suture interface as the weak link.
  • Anchor pullout from bone happened in only 1 of 22 cases, and that loose anchor was likely from improper seating during a small tear rather than true bony failure. This argues against the long-held worry that anchors fail in osteoporotic bone.
  • Radiographic and fluoroscopic follow-up confirmed all 335 anchors in 81 patients stayed seated in bone at a mean of 37 months. This independently supports that the anchor-bone interface is not the problem.
  • Suture breakage occurred in zero cases, removing suture material strength as a meaningful failure mechanism in this technique.
  • Cuff tears were larger at revision than at the index repair (8.9 vs 6.3 cm², P = .043), consistent with progressive tendon loss once a repair fails.
  • Tendon quality (P = .013) and mobility (P = .002) were both worse at revision, showing the biological substrate deteriorates and makes re-repair harder.
  • The overall revision rate was 6% (21 of 342), though the authors note many failed repairs stay asymptomatic and never reach revision.
Board PearlRotator cuff repairs fail at the tendon-suture interface (tendon pulls through the sutures), not at the anchor-bone interface, even in elderly patients.

Clinical Relevance

The clinical lesson is where to focus your repair strength: the tendon, not the bone. For years the concern was that suture anchors would pull out of osteoporotic proximal humerus. This paper shows that fear is largely misplaced.

When a suture-anchor mattress repair fails, the tendon cuts through the sutures while the anchor stays put. That reframes the technical problem toward improving tendon-side fixation.

Practically, this supports using more anchors, more suture limbs, and tendon-grasping stitch configurations that resist pull-through. It is part of the mechanical rationale behind later moves toward more secure suture patterns and double-row constructs.

One caveat worth carrying to boards: revision patients are a biased sample, since many mechanically failed repairs stay asymptomatic and never get re-explored.

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|

Mode of Failure for Rotator Cuff Repair with Suture Anchors Identified at Revision Surgery.

Cummins, Murrell·J Shoulder Elbow Surg·2003·385 citations·Shoulder & Elbow
DOI·PubMed
SummaryAbstract on PubMed →

This prospective study followed 342 suture-anchor rotator cuff repairs by a single surgeon. It asked one question: when these repairs fail, where mechanically do they fail? Mode of failure was recorded systematically at revision surgery and compared with the original repair.

Study Snapshot

Design
Prospective cohort
Blinding: Open-label
Setting: Single-surgeon practice, two centers
Funding: Industry (Mitek)
Objective
Determine the primary mode of mechanical failure of suture-anchor rotator cuff repairs at revision surgery
Outcome(s)
Mode of mechanical failure identified at revision surgery
Subjects
342 repairs; 22 revisions; 81 imaged
Inclusion
  • Symptomatic rotator cuff tear
  • Suture-anchor repair by single surgeon
  • Revision or 2-year imaging follow-up
Exclusion
  • Deceased or severely demented (imaging subset)
Follow-up
Imaging at mean 37 months (range 20-63)
Statistics
Fisher exact testPaired t testWilcoxon rank sumANOVA

Key Findings

  • Tendon pulling through the sutures was the dominant failure mode in 19 of 22 revision cases (P < .001). The sutures, knots, and anchors were intact but no longer holding tendon, pointing to the tendon-suture interface as the weak link.
  • Anchor pullout from bone happened in only 1 of 22 cases, and that loose anchor was likely from improper seating during a small tear rather than true bony failure. This argues against the long-held worry that anchors fail in osteoporotic bone.
  • Radiographic and fluoroscopic follow-up confirmed all 335 anchors in 81 patients stayed seated in bone at a mean of 37 months. This independently supports that the anchor-bone interface is not the problem.
  • Suture breakage occurred in zero cases, removing suture material strength as a meaningful failure mechanism in this technique.
  • Cuff tears were larger at revision than at the index repair (8.9 vs 6.3 cm², P = .043), consistent with progressive tendon loss once a repair fails.
  • Tendon quality (P = .013) and mobility (P = .002) were both worse at revision, showing the biological substrate deteriorates and makes re-repair harder.
  • The overall revision rate was 6% (21 of 342), though the authors note many failed repairs stay asymptomatic and never reach revision.
Board PearlRotator cuff repairs fail at the tendon-suture interface (tendon pulls through the sutures), not at the anchor-bone interface, even in elderly patients.

Clinical Relevance

The clinical lesson is where to focus your repair strength: the tendon, not the bone. For years the concern was that suture anchors would pull out of osteoporotic proximal humerus. This paper shows that fear is largely misplaced.

When a suture-anchor mattress repair fails, the tendon cuts through the sutures while the anchor stays put. That reframes the technical problem toward improving tendon-side fixation.

Practically, this supports using more anchors, more suture limbs, and tendon-grasping stitch configurations that resist pull-through. It is part of the mechanical rationale behind later moves toward more secure suture patterns and double-row constructs.

One caveat worth carrying to boards: revision patients are a biased sample, since many mechanically failed repairs stay asymptomatic and never get re-explored.

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