These authors investigated the combination of factors associated with postoperative retear after repair of a rotator cuff tear in 286 patients having magnetic resonance (MR) imaging at 6 months after surgery.
254 of the repairs were intact and 32 were retorn.
The retear group had increased tear size as well as greater prevalence of hyperlipidemia, global fatty degeneration index, supraspinatus fatty degeneration and critical shoulder angle (CSA) equal to or greater than 37.
The healed group had an average CSA 33.5±3.54 while the retear group and an average of 35.7 ± 3.72. The difference was statistically significant (p .0015). However the difference in the means was only 2.2 degrees, a value much less than the standard deviations. So the question is, "is this difference clinically significant?" Can we say that a two degree difference increases the risk of retear? If an increased CSA increases the risk of retear, is it because of a difference in line AB or line BC, i.e. because the acromion is slightly more lateral or the superior glenoid is slightly more medial? Food for thought.
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