Partial-Thickness Articular Surface Rotator Cuff Tears: An All-Inside Repair Technique

The treatment of partial-thickness articular surface rotator cuff tears is controversial. Treatment has varied from simple debridement with or without an acromioplasty to various repair techniques. These repair techniques have included transtendinous methods and completion of the tear and repairing the full thickness defect. The transtendinous techniques can be associated with stiffness, and completing the tear takes down normal intact tissue. Therefore, a technique was developed that repairs the articular side partial-thickness rotator cuff tears with an all-inside approach that does not violate the intact bursal tissue and does not complete the tear.