Surgery of Rotator Cuff Tears.

We operated on 215 cases with rotator cuff tears from July 1986 to 1993. Subjects consisted of 169 males and 46 females, with 163 right shoulder and 64 left shoulder disorders.Ages ranged from 27 to 81 years with an average of 55.9 years. This paper reports the technique of repair of tears of the rotator cuff. The greatest challenge of repair of rotator cuff injuries is dealing effectively with the torn retracted cuff tendons.Chronic tears are characterized by significant retraction, fibrosis and attenuation of the cuff tendons.