I 136 THE JOURNAL OF BONE AND JOINT SURGERY Repair of the Rotator Cuff END-RESULT STUDY OF FAcTORS INFLUENCING RECONSTRUCTION*

ABSTRACT: In fifty patients who had fifty tears of the rotator cuff that had been repaired, we correlated the preoperative findings by history, physical exami-nation, and radiography with the operative findings, the difficulty of the repair, and the results after an average follow-up of 3.5 years. The results, which were rated on the basis of pain, function, range of motion, strength, and satisfaction of the patient, were satisfactory in 84 per cent and unsatisfactory in 16 per cent. The corre-lations of the preoperative findings with the results showed that pain and functional impairment, the pri-mary indications for repair, were significantly relieved. The longer the duration of pain was preoperatively, the larger the cuff tear and the more difficult the repair were