Sonographic detection of tears of the anterior portion of the rotator cuff (subscapularis tendon tears).

We studied the value of ultrasonography in identifying tears of the most anterior portion of the rotator cuff (subscapularis tendon tears). Shoulder sonography was performed on 1640 patients with shoulder symptoms, 435 of whom underwent surgery. Among the patients who were operated on, 17 had predominantly or exclusively subscapularis tendon tears; 14 of these were full-thickness and three were partial-thickness tears. Ultrasonography demonstrated 82% (14 of 17) of the subscapularis tendon tears; 86% (12 of 14) of the full-thickness tears and 67% (2 of 3) of the partial-thickness tears were correctly diagnosed with ultrasonography. Sonography can diagnose and show the size of subscapularis tendon tears reliably, but it necessitates that the arm can be externally rotated to the maximum extent when performing the study.