Impact of previous rotator cuff repair on the outcome of reverse shoulder arthroplasty

Background: Our purpose was to evaluate the outcome of the Delta reverse shoulder prosthesis (DePuy France, Saint Priest, France) in a consecutive series of 68 shoulders and perform a comparison of patients with and without previous shoulder arthroscopy for cuff tear reconstruction. Patients and methods: We assessed 68 shoulders in 66 patients (36 women and 30 men) with a mean age of 66 years (range, 53-84 years), first preoperatively and then at a minimum of 2 years' follow-up, using the Constant score for pain; Constant Shoulder Score; Oxford Shoulder Score; University of California, Los Angeles shoulder rating scale; and Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand score. Any complications were assessed according to Goslings and Gouma. Results: We report statistically significant improvements of all obtained scores at a mean follow-up of 42 months (range, 24-96 months) in both groups. Significant outcome differences between 29 patients with previous shoulder arthroscopy for cuff tear reconstruction and 39 patients without previous shoulder arthroscopy were not observed. In total, 8 complications occurred: 1 nerve lesion, 3 cases of loosening of the humeral stem, and 4 cases of luxation of the glenoid component. Conclusion: We conclude that reverse total shoulder arthroplasty with the Delta prosthesis is significantly beneficial in terms of less shoulder pain, greater stability, and gain in range of motion without this beneficial effect being significantly weakened by previous insufficient shoulder arthroscopy for cuff tear reconstruction. We believe that previous arthroscopic cuff tear reconstruction should therefore be included in the treatment algorithm. Level of evidence: Level III, Case-Control Study, Treatment Study. (C) 2011 Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery Board of Trustees.