Arthroscopic treatment of full-thickness rotator cuff tears on the athlete

Full-thickness rotator cuff tears in the young athlete are uncommon. The majority of full-thickness cuff tears are seen in the middle-aged recreational athlete, Symptomatic full-thickness cuff tears in these competitive athletes should be arthroscopically repaired. We advocate a double-row arthroscopic rotator cuff repair, which, when compared with a traditional single row repair,better restores the original footprint of the torn rotator cuff. It is our belief that by maximizing the amount of surface area that the torn rotator cuff can heal to bone, a concomitant increase in the healing and mechanical strength of the repaired rotator cuff tendon can be potentially achieved. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.