Abstract
In this study, we aimed to compare the clinical results of the arthroscopic assisted Mini open method and the Arthroscopic method in the surgical treatment of full thickness rotator cuff tears. The results of 42 patients, who underwent surgical treatment and followed for at least one year due to full-length rotator cuff tear in our clinic between 2017-2018, were evaluated retrospectively. The diagnosis of the patients was made by clinical physical examination and magnetic resonance imaging. The patients were divided into two groups according to the treatment method. Group 1 (Full Arthroscopic) consisted of 25 patients and Group 2 (Arthroscopic assisted Mini open) consisted of 17 patients. UCLA (University of California Los Angeles) and ASES (American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons) scores were used to evaluate the clinical results of the patients. Rotator cuff tears were classified as small, medium or large according to their size. The same physical therapy protocol was applied to all patients in our hospital. There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of gender, side, additional pathology (p=0.952; p=0.622; p=0.952; p=0.88 and p=0.138 respectively). There is no significant difference in the size of the rotator cuff tear (small, medium, large tear) between the groups (p=0.158). There was no statistical difference in preoperative, 6th and 1st year UCLA scores of the groups (p=0.979, p=0.678 and p=0.676, respectively). Similarly, there was no significant difference between the groups in ASES scores (p=0.083; p=0.154 and p=0.795, respectively). On the other hand, postoperative 6th and 1st year scores were statistically better than preoperative UCLA scores in intragroup evaluation (p<0.001). Also, according to preoperative ASES scores, postoperative 6th month and 1st year scores were found statistically higher (p<0.001). The results of this study show that patients were benefited from both two treatment methods and it was detected that arthroscopic-assisted mini-open and full arthroscopic method have similar outcomes.