Prospective study of 90 arthroscopic rotator cuff repairs for isolated distal supraspinatus tear, assessing the impact of cardiovascular risk factors on tendon healing

Introduction: Cardiovascular risk factors have been shown to be relevant to onset of rotator cuff tear, but their influence on healing remains to be determined.

Objective: To assess the individual and cumulative impact of cardiovascular risk factors on tendon healing after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair.

Material and method: A single-center prospective study included 90 patients undergoing arthroscopic repair of isolated distal supraspinatus tendon tear. Only isolated full-thickness tears without anteroposterior extension, retraction (Patte stage ≤ 2) or fatty involution were included. Tendon healing was assessed on ultrasound according to the 5 types of the Sugaya classification. Clinical and functional assessment at 12 months used Constant score. Cardiovascular comorbidities were screened for in the preoperative anesthesiology consultation and control consultation: smoking, high blood pressure, dyslipidemia, diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular history, and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.

Results: Ninety patients with a mean age of 59.6±6.95 years were included for analysis. 77.7% of cuffs showed healing on ultrasound, without signs of retear (stage 1-3), 16.6% showed partial retear (stage 4) and 6.6% showed no healing, with tendon retraction (stage 5). Mean Constant score improved by 37.5 points (p=0.001), for a global score of 78 at 12 months. Multivariate analysis identified several significant cardiovascular factors for poor healing: active smoking (p=0.002), dyslipidemia (p=0.006), high blood pressure (p≤0.001) and obesity (p=0.02). Cumulative comorbidity was associated with poor tendon healing, with significant impact as of 2 cardiovascular risk factors. Constant score decreased significantly according to healing stage (p≤0.001).

Conclusion: The present study confirmed the involvement of cardiovascular risk factors in bone-tendon healing disorder, with significant impact as of 2 factors.

Level of evidence: IV; low-power prospective clinical series.