Management of irrepairable cuff tears in the active individual

Symposium 2 - Shoulder (Tendinopathy)Conference Theme: Musculoskeletal Challenges in the Baby Boomers: Repair, Reconstruct & ReplaceAn irreparable cuff tear in active individual is notoriously difficult to be treated. There are many proposed treatment strategies for this problem. However, majority of treatment options are palliative in terms of decreasing pain and increasing function of the patient. The possible treatment options include: (1) conservative treatment; (2) arthroscopic debridement and lavage; (3) isolated biceps tenotomy / tenodesis; (4) tuberoplasty; (5) partial cuff repair; (6) augmentation with biological tissue or artificial scaffold; (7) superior capsule reconstruction; (8) tendon transfer; (9) deltoid muscular flap and (10) reversed total shoulder replacement. A literature review on these treatment options the results are presented. Finally, the author will describe his preferred way of management with video illustration