Functional Outcome and Health-Related Quality of Life after Surgical Repair of Full-Thickness Rotator Cuff Tear Using a Mini-Open Technique:

Background:Although good short-term and midterm outcomes are reported for mini-open rotator cuff repair, few prospective studies have investigated long-term results.Hypothesis:Function and health-related quality of life (HRQL) outcomes would be maintained 10 years after mini-open rotator cuff repair.Study Design:Cohort study; Level of evidence, 2.Methods:Patients with a confirmed full-thickness rotator cuff tear who underwent mini-open repair between April 1997 and July 2000 were evaluated preoperatively as well as 1 year and 10 years postoperatively for (1) pain, function, and HRQL using the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) score and Western Ontario Rotator Cuff Index (WORC) score; (2) active shoulder range of motion (ROM) using goniometry; and (3) satisfaction by an independent evaluator. Changes in function, HRQL, and ROM over time were analyzed using repeated-measures analysis of variance.Results:A total of 84 patients were enrolled, of which 61 (73%) were men; the mean (±SD) age was 53.0 ±...