Arthroscopic treatment of rotator cuff disease

Rotator cuff disease represents a spectrum of tendon lesions including inflammation of an intrinsically normal tendon, tendon fibrosis, partial-thickness tears, complete tears, and cuff tear arthropathy. An in-depth analysis of the entire subject is beyond the scope of this article. This article will focus on the arthroscopic management of the spectrum of rotator cuff disease in an attempt to provide a timely summary of the present state of knowledge. Five stages of rotator cuff disease will be reviewed: stage 2 impingement, partial-thickness cuff tears, complete-thickness rotator cuff tears, irreparable rotator cuff tears, and cuff tear arthropathy. In preparing this article I have assumed that the reader is familiar with the diagnosis of rotator cuff lesions through the use of appropriate patient history, physical examination, and radiologic studies.