This 2004 AОА symposium review by Williams, Rockwood, Bigliani, Iannotti, and Stanwood examines when and why to repair rotator cuff tears — synthesizing natural history data, nonoperative rehabilitation outcomes, comparative repair technique results, and management strategies for irreparable tears.
When counseling a young active patient with a full-thickness tear, lean toward early repair — the longer you wait, the more fatty infiltration accumulates and the less reversible it becomes.
In patients over 60 with sedentary demands, a structured home rehabilitation program is a legitimate first step before committing to surgery, with realistic expectations that rerupture rates are high but clinical satisfaction can still be excellent.
This 2004 AОА symposium review by Williams, Rockwood, Bigliani, Iannotti, and Stanwood examines when and why to repair rotator cuff tears — synthesizing natural history data, nonoperative rehabilitation outcomes, comparative repair technique results, and management strategies for irreparable tears.
When counseling a young active patient with a full-thickness tear, lean toward early repair — the longer you wait, the more fatty infiltration accumulates and the less reversible it becomes.
In patients over 60 with sedentary demands, a structured home rehabilitation program is a legitimate first step before committing to surgery, with realistic expectations that rerupture rates are high but clinical satisfaction can still be excellent.