Which is the Most Reliable Radiologic Examination for the Diagnosis of Rotator Cuff Tendon Tear?

Overview

At this point in time the approach to the diagnosis of rotator cuff tendon tears is not consensual. The French surgeons, considering they have a good experience of this method, preferably use a shoulder CT-arthrography. Whereas in the United States surgeons rather rely on MRI or MR-arthrography of the shoulder. However, nobody can say which of these three examinations is most precise and gives the best information. We proposed to carry out the three examinations at the same time in a large number of patients who needed to be operated for a rotator cuff tendon tear and then to compare the results of each of these examinations with the operative observations.

Rotator cuff tendon tear is the principal pathology of the shoulder. These degenerative tendon lesions are due to normal ageing. True complete asymptomatic tears are even quite frequently noted in old subjects. However, they can be very invalidating. The majority of these degenerative lesions are treated medically. In a limited number of cases, a surgical treatment aimed at reducing a mechanical conflict and/or repair the tendons is necessary. The indication for a surgical treatment is based on the clinical evaluation and the radiological assessment. The radiological assessment is essential to confirm the tears but also to evaluate their extent. The type of surgery depends on this anatomic and radiologic assessment. It is thus possible, in the event of small complete tear, to make a simple tendon suture or a transosseous reinsertion. On the other hand, in the event of a large tear with tendon retraction, muscular flap reconstruction is needed. The preoperative radiological assessment is based on different radiological examinations, exploring the tendons. In the United States, MRI is mainly used in this case. In France, it is CT-arthrography which is regarded as the standard of care because the high contrast resolution of the images obtained and their reliability appear to be higher than those of MRI. The articular puncture necessary to perform this examination is not regarded in our country as an obstacle. The MR-arthrography, which consists in injecting into the joint of very low concentration of gadolinium, makes it possible to obtain an arthrographic effect in MRI. This examination gives images with an excellent contrast. It is already very widespread in the USA. In France, we have an increasingly large experience of it, but still limited.