This prospective study followed 32 patients through open rotator cuff repair, using MRI at 1 year to assess structural integrity and correlate it with clinical outcomes. The central question: does a retear on postoperative MRI translate to a worse result for the patient?
The instinct to avoid repair when a retear seems likely — or to counsel patients that a retear means failure. Is not supported by this data. When you see a patient 1 year after rotator cuff repair who has MRI evidence of retear but reports significant pain relief and strength gains, that is an expected and acceptable outcome. Do not frame it as a surgical failure.
This paper is part of why we counsel patients that the goal of repair includes pain relief and functional restoration, not just anatomic healing. Even in the 31% who retore, the majority reported good or excellent satisfaction.
One nuance worth knowing: the UCLA score was the one metric that significantly favored the intact-cuff group (32 vs. 28, P <.04), suggesting that while most outcomes are preserved after retear, some functional domains are still better with a healed repair.
This prospective study followed 32 patients through open rotator cuff repair, using MRI at 1 year to assess structural integrity and correlate it with clinical outcomes. The central question: does a retear on postoperative MRI translate to a worse result for the patient?
The instinct to avoid repair when a retear seems likely — or to counsel patients that a retear means failure. Is not supported by this data. When you see a patient 1 year after rotator cuff repair who has MRI evidence of retear but reports significant pain relief and strength gains, that is an expected and acceptable outcome. Do not frame it as a surgical failure.
This paper is part of why we counsel patients that the goal of repair includes pain relief and functional restoration, not just anatomic healing. Even in the 31% who retore, the majority reported good or excellent satisfaction.
One nuance worth knowing: the UCLA score was the one metric that significantly favored the intact-cuff group (32 vs. 28, P <.04), suggesting that while most outcomes are preserved after retear, some functional domains are still better with a healed repair.