Open repair of subscapularis tendon tears leads to complete relief of symptoms in the majority of patients, but often fails to restore functional range of motion.

Purpose: To investigate the outcome of open subscapularis (SSC) repair in terms of complete relief of symptoms, regaining functional range of motion ((ROM), i.e. minimum ROM to complete all tasks of daily living) and retear rate.

Methods: Sixty-one patients who underwent open SSC repair between 2012 and 2019 were included in a retrospective cohort study. Primary outcome measures (complete relief of symptoms, obtaining functional ROM, SSC retears), were assessed at minimum 1-year follow-up. Prognostic factors for these outcome measures were identified.

Results: At final follow-up, 44 patients (72%) reported complete relief of symptoms. Pre-operatively, 23 patients (40%) had a functional ROM, which increased to 33 patients (54%) post-operatively. Eight Patients (13%) had a retear after a median follow-up of 21 months (range: 3-35). Lafosse type IV tears were associated with having persisting symptoms (OR 5, 95 confidence interval (CI) 1.2-17.9, = 0.024) and retears (OR 7, 95 CI 1.9-37.7, = 0.031).

Conclusion: The majority of patients reported complete relief of symptoms after SSC repair; however, only 54% obtained a functional ROM. Measuring outcome in terms of complete relief symptoms and regaining functional ROM is useful for the surgeon to evaluate the effect of surgical intervention and provides tangible information for patients.