Extract
Irreparable rotator cuff tears are infrequent but well-defined lesions
consisting of massive rotator cuff tears that are not reparable by
conventional means. Rockwood and
others1-3
defined irreparable tears as those that, because of their size and retraction,
cannot be repaired primarily to their insertion onto the tuberosities despite
conventional techniques of mobilization and soft-tissue releases. Goutallier
et al. classified rotator cuff tears on the basis of the amount of muscle
atrophy and fatty infiltration of the affected rotator cuff muscles
demonstrated by computed tomographic
scans4. Often, these
tears are associated with concomitant arthritis of the glenohumeral joint,
making treatment options even more
complex5.