A comparison of full arthroscopic and arthroscopic-assisted mini-open repair methods in rotator cuff tears 1-3 cm in size.

Introduction: Retrospective evaluation of rotator cuff repair with arthroscopic or arthroscopic-assisted mini-open methods for a diagnosis of non-retracted rotator cuff tear.

Materials And Methods: A total of 45 patients underwent rotator cuff repair; Group 1 (n = 24) with arthroscopic-assisted mini-open method and Group 2 (n = 21) with full arthroscopic method.

Results: Within both Group 1 and Group 2, a statistically significant results is p = 0.001. The patients of Group 2 were seen to return to daily life earlier than those of Group 1 (p = 0.001).

Conclusions: Patients where full arthroscopic repair was applied, there was evidence of an earlier return to daily life.

Level Of Evidence: IV, retrospective comparative study.