Arthroscopic Middle Trapezius Transfer for Treatment of Irreparable Superior Rotator Cuff Tendon Tears

Philipp Moroder; Lucca Lacheta; Victor Danzinger; Kathi Thiele; Sophia Ellermann; Doruk Akgün

doi:10.1016/j.eats.2020.10.044

Arthroscopic Middle Trapezius Transfer for Treatment of Irreparable Superior Rotator Cuff Tendon Tears

Arthrosc Tech. 2021 Jan 16;10(2):e581-e586. doi: 10.1016/j.eats.2020.10.044. eCollection 2021 Feb.

Authors

Philipp Moroder¹, Lucca Lacheta¹, Victor Danzinger¹, Kathi Thiele¹, Sophia Ellermann¹, Doruk Akgün¹

Affiliation

¹ Department for Shoulder and Elbow Surgery, Center for Musculoskeletal Surgery, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.

Abstract

Irreparable supraspinatus tendon tears are challenging to treat, especially in a young and high-demanding patient population. Whereas interposition tendon grafting and partial repair are limited by the quality of the remaining rotator cuff tendons and muscles, superior capsular reconstruction and subacromial spacers do not provide the active biomechanical principle of a contracting supraspinatus. The purpose of this technical note is to introduce an arthroscopic middle trapezius transfer below the acromion to replace the former supraspinatus unit. This technique might combine the benefits of both the static concepts seen with subacromial spacers or superior capsular reconstruction and dynamic concepts such as interposition grafting and partial repairs.