Mini-incision rotator cuff repair: a longitudinal assessment with no deterioration of result up to nine years.

The reported short- and intermediate-term results of mini-incision rotator cuff repair have been satisfactory. This study was carried out to assess whether these results are sustained in the long term. Seventy-nine consecutive mini-incision cuff repairs were initially reviewed and the results analyzed at a mean of 2 years after surgery by use of a subjective self-scoring system in which patients scored pain, function, active forward flexion, and strength, as well as patient satisfaction. Subsequently, 74 of the initial 79 patients were available for the second review at a mean of 7 years (range, 5-9 years). At 2 years, there were 74% good to excellent results, which improved to 84% at 7 years. Six patients had a poor result at 2 years, compared with 5 patients at 7 years. Within this group of 5 with a poor result, there were 4 who had subsequent trauma and markedly deteriorated to score as poor. Sixty-five percent of the compensation group had good to excellent results at a mean of 7 years compared with ninety percent of the non-compensation group. The manual workers within the workers' compensation subgroup did worse than the sedentary workers at 2 years; however, at the 7-year review, this difference was statistically no longer apparent. This study found that, in the absence of reinjury, there is no deterioration in the results of mini-incision cuff repair in up to 9 years' follow-up.