A Long Preoperative Duration of Symptoms Is Associated With Worse Functional Outcomes After 1-Stage Arthroscopic Treatment of Rotator Cuff Tears With Shoulder Stiffness:

Background:Rotator cuff tears with shoulder stiffness remain a difficult issue. Despite the reported satisfactory results of 1-stage surgery, little information is available regarding the factors that affect clinical outcomes.Purpose/Hypothesis:To evaluate the 1-stage arthroscopic treatment of rotator cuff tears with shoulder stiffness and to present the influence of duration of symptoms (DOS) on postoperative functional outcomes. The hypothesis was that a long preoperative DOS is related to worse functional outcomes.Hypothesis:A long preoperative DOS is related to worse functional outcomes.Study Design:Cohort study; Level of evidence, 2.Methods:A cohort study was performed with consecutive patients who underwent 1-stage surgery between January 2012 and July 2014. Forty-four patients were enrolled in the long DOS group (DOS ≥6 months or LDOS), and 38 were enrolled in the short DOS group (DOS <6 months or SDOS). There were no significant differences in the other variables between the groups. The patients w...