Editorial Commentary: Your Surgical “Tool Box” Just Got a Little Bit Bigger

There is currently no “gold standard” for the surgical repair of a partial-thickness rotator cuff tear. Ranalletta et al. have made a meaningful contribution to the orthopaedic literature with this study that reports the clinical outcomes of 80 patients who underwent arthroscopic transtendon repair of high-grade, articular-sided partial-thickness rotator cuff tears. At a mean follow-up of 62 months, they noted significant improvement in pain, range of motion, and a number of objective shoulder outcome measures. Perhaps most importantly, 92.5% rated their shoulder as “good” or “excellent.” Unfortunately, we cannot definitively state whether or not these repairs actually healed given the lack of postoperative imaging, nor do we know the actual depth of these partial tears that can be difficult to objectively quantify. Despite these shortcomings, arthroscopic surgeons who treat rotator cuff disorders will be able to use this information in treating their patients irrespective of their preferred surgical technique. Future studies are needed to definitively determine which repair method, if any, is better.