CLINICAL ARTICLE

 

Sonographic evaluation of the arthroscopically repaired rotator cuff

 

 

J de Beer^I; Anne Karelse^II

^IMBChB, MMed(Ortho); Cape Shoulder Institute, Cape Town, South Africa
^IIMDOrthopaedic Surgeon specialised in shoulder surgery, University Hospital of Ghent, Belgium

Correspondence

 

 

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ABSTRACT

Ultrasound is gradually achieving more acceptance by orthopaedic surgeons as a diagnostic imaging tool for rotator cuff and biceps tendon pathology.
Two hundred and ten patients with arthroscopic rotator cuff repairs were examined clinically and with ultrasound at early (3 weeks) and late follow-up (average 22 months; range: 12 to 49).
A high correlation between clinically intact cuffs and sonographically intact rotator cuffs after repair is shown. This article gives an overview of relevant sonographic signs of rotator cuff tears, and it gives a detailed description of the sonographic signs of an intact rotator cuff after repair. Ultrasound appears to be a valuable examination for the orthopaedic surgeon to evaluate the postoperative integrity of (arthroscopically) repaired rotator cuff tendons.

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Correspondence:
Dr JF de Beer
P O Box 15741
7506 Panorama
Tel: (021) 911-1017
Email: shoulder@iafrica.com

 

 

The content of this article is the sole work of the authors. No benefits of any form have been derived from any commercial party directly or indirectly related to the subject of this article.