RESEARCH ARTICLE


Complications of the Fingers and Hand After Arthroscopic Rotator Cuff Repair



Mikio Harada1, *, Nariyuki Mura2, Masatoshi Takahara1, Michiaki Takagi3
1 Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Izumi Orthopedic Hospital, Maruyama Aza Kamiyagari 6-1, Izumi-ku, Sendai, Miyagi, 981-3121, Japan
2 Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Yoshioka Hospital, Higashihon-cho 3-5-21, Tendo, Yamagata, 994-0026, Japan
3 Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Yamagata University Faculty of Medicine Iida-Nishi-2-2-2, Yamagata, 990-9585, Japan


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Creative Commons License
© 2018 Harada et al.

open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode). This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

* Address correspondence to this author at the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Izumi Orthopedic Hospital, Mikio Harada MD, PhD, Maruyama Aza Kamiyagari 6-1, Izumi-ku, Sendai, Miyagi, 981-3121, Japan; Tel: 81-22-373-7377; E-mail: miharadaeye@yahoo.co.jp


Abstract

Background:

Complications of the fingers and hand that occur after Arthroscopic Rotator Cuff Repair (ARCR) have not been examined in detail.

Objective:

The aim of our study was to evaluate the diagnosis and treatment of complications of the fingers and hand that occur after ARCR and to examine treatment outcomes.

Methods:

The case records of 40 patients (41 shoulders) who underwent ARCR using suture anchors were retrospectively reviewed to investigate complications of the fingers and hand after ARCR.

Results:

Twelve patients (29%) experienced numbness, pain, edema, and movement limitations of the fingers and hand. These symptoms occurred on average 1.1 months (range, 0.1-2.5 months) after ARCR. The diagnoses were cubital tunnel syndrome in 2 hands, carpal tunnel syndrome in 3 hands, and flexor tenosynovitis (TS) in 10 hands. None of the 10 hands with TS exhibited triggering of the fingers. The mean interval between treatment initiation and symptom resolution was 2.2 months for the 5 hands treated by corticosteroid injection or surgery and 5.9 months for the 7 hands treated by alternating warm and cold baths alone. None of the hands exhibited Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS).

Conclusion:

Complications of the fingers and hand after ARCR were observed in 29%. TS was the most frequent complication. When symptoms in the fingers and hand occur after ARCR, rather than immediately suspecting CRPS, TS should be primarily suspected, including when TS symptoms such as triggering are not present, and these patients should be treated proactively using corticosteroid injections or surgery.

Keywords: Rotator cuff, Complication, Cubital tunnel syndrome, Carpal tunnel syndrome, Flexor tenosynovitis, Complex regional pain syndrome, Finger.