Arthroscopic suture bridge technique for intratendinous tear of rotator cuff in chronically painful calcific tendinitis of the shoulder.

Arthroscopic removal, now the main treatment option, has almost replaced open surgery for treatment of resistant calcific tendinitis. In some cases of chronic calcific tendinitis of the shoulder, the calcific materials are hard and adherent to the tendon. Removal of these materials can cause significant intratendinous tears between the superficial and deep layers of the degenerated rotator cuff. Thus far, there are no established surgical techniques for removing the calcific materials while ensuring cuff integrity. Good clinical results for rotator cuff repair were achieved by using an arthroscopic suture bridge technique in patients with long-standing calcific tendinitis. Intact rotator cuff integrity and recovery of signal change on follow-up magnetic resonance imaging scans were confirmed. This is a technical note about a surgical technique and its clinical results with a review of relevant published reports.