Objective: The purpose of our study was to determine if cysts in and adjacent to the lesser tuberosity are associated with rotator cuff pathology found at arthroscopy.
Materials and methods: A retrospective review was undertaken of the magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of 286 consecutive arthroscopic procedures performed by a single orthopedic shoulder surgeon from February 2001 to June 2009. Images of the shoulders were reviewed by an experienced fellowship-trained musculoskeletal radiologist, reader 1, and a musculoskeletal fellow, reader 2, for the presence and location of lesser tuberosity cysts. Cysts were grouped by their location into those within the lesser tuberosity and those adjacent to the lesser tuberosity. Interreader agreement was calculated using kappa values.
Results: A total of 26 patients (17 men, 9 women; age range 14–84 years; mean of 61 years) had cysts in or adjacent to the lesser tuberosity. For reader 1, patients with cysts located in the lesser tuberosity were found to be significantly older(p=00.03) and more likely to have subscapularis tendon tears(p=00.02) than patients with cysts located adjacent to the tuberosity. No significant difference in any category between patients with a cyst located in the lesser tuberosity and those adjacent to the tuberosity was identified for reader 2. Interreader agreement of imaging findings ranged from fair to near perfect agreement.
Conclusion: Cysts located in the lesser tuberosity at the insertion of the subscapularis tendon are suggestive of subscapularis tendon pathology and may occur in older individuals.