All arthroscopic rotator cuff repairs (Reprinted from Operative Techniques in Sports Medicine, October, 2000)

The arthroscopic operation for repair of full-thickness rotator cuff tears is successful and has the advantages of glenohumeral joint inspection, treatment of intra-articular lesions, smaller incisions, no deltoid detachment, less soft tissue dissection, less pain, and more rapid rehabilitation. However, these advantages must be balanced against the technical difficulty of this method, which limits its application to surgeons skilled in both open and arthroscopic shoulder operations. This article contains many technical pearls to, as much as possible, simplify and improve all arthroscopic cuff repair.