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Rotator Cuff Tears
Minimally Invasive Treatment For Maximum Results
The rotator cuff is the group of muscles and tendons that stabilize the shoulder and allow you to move your arm away from your body. Trauma, sports injury, or repetitive overuse can result in a rotator cuff tear. Individuals with jobs or hobbies that require repetitive use of the muscles in this area are more prone to rotator cuff tears.
Symptoms of a Rotator Cuff Injury
The most common symptom of a rotator cuff tear is pain. Pain from a rotator cuff injury often spans the areas around the front and outer part of the shoulder and often increases in intensity when the shoulder joint is moved into certain positions.
Other common symptoms of a rotator cuff tear include:
- A popping sound or tearing sensation within the shoulder
- Dull, aching pain deep in the shoulder
- Pain at night that makes sleeping on the affected side difficult or even impossible
- Muscle weakness, especially when lifting the arm away from the body
Tear Diagnosis
As a fellowship-trained knee, shoulder, and sports medicine specialist, Dr. Goradia is very familiar with these injuries and can detect a rotator cuff tear via a series of examinations and tests. When you have your orthopedic consultation with Dr. Goradia, he will discuss your symptoms and the circumstances around the time when they first appeared.
During the appointment, you will also be asked to move your arm in several directions or to hold it in various positions to determine any areas of pain, discomfort, or weakness in your shoulder.
X-rays may be used to see problems within the bones themselves, and other tests, including an MRI, may be needed to confirm a rotator cuff tear. Not all shoulder pain requires an MRI at the beginning of treatment as insurance may not approve it if other treatments haven’t been tried. In some cases, Dr. Goradia may order an MR Arthrogram, which is an MRI with dye injected into the shoulder, to improve visibility if a labral tear is suspected.
Types of Tears
There are three different types of rotator cuff tears, and treatment options depend on your level of tear. Each level of tear indicates the severity of the injury and will indicate the proper treatment plan to restore your rotator cuff to its normal function. When you consult with Dr. Goradia about your rotator cuff tear, he will determine which level tear you have.
The three levels are as follows:
- Partial tears that do not completely sever the tendon but may worsen over time and progress to full-thickness tears
- Full-thickness tears that tear the tendon into two separate pieces, requiring a full arthroscopic shoulder surgery to repair
- Massive tears even more damaging than full-thickness tears, sometimes deemed unrepairable by other surgeons
Treatment Options for Rotator Cuff Tears
If you have been told elsewhere that your rotator cuff tear cannot be repaired or can’t be done via arthroscopy, consult Dr. Goradia for a second opinion. Dr. Goradia is often able to repair massive rotator cuff tears for patients who have been told their tear is not repairable. Thanks to his surgical techniques for the repair and restoration of massive rotator cuff tears, Dr. Goradia is able to repair rotator cuff tears that have poor tissue quality or are severely retracted and scarred.
One of Dr. Goradia’s techniques involves donor tissue to reinforce the rotator cuff repair. While use of these tissues has existed for many years with open rotator cuff surgery, Dr. Goradia’s technique allows him to place this tissue into the shoulder arthroscopically (meaning a less invasive procedure for the patient with the same results).
Superior capsular reconstruction (SCR) is another type of arthroscopic procedure that utilizes donor tissue. When there is a massive tear associated with bone-on-bone arthritis, this reconstruction can be used instead of a shoulder replacement in young patients.
ARTHROSCOPIC TREATMENT TECHNIQUE
Treatment of Irreparable Rotator Cuff Tear
Double Row Rotator Cuff Repair
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