The surgical treatment of massive rotator cuff tears is a clinical challenge for orthopaedic surgeons. Moreover, tendon retraction, adhesions and fatty infiltration after rotator cuff tear will further increase the difficulty of surgical repair. Therefore, it has become a hotspot and difficulty to repair massive rotator cuff tears with a better way in current research. In recent years, with the continuous development of arthroscopic techniques, shoulder arthroscopic surgery has become the gold standard for the treatment of massive rotator cuff tears, but the adaptations, effects and combined application of different surgical methods are still controversial. The author believes that arthroscopic debridement of shoulder joint and acromioplasty or tuberoplasty could relieve shoulder pain in the short-term for elderly patients with lower functional requirements;long biceps tenotomy or tenodesis is effective for patients with biceps long head tendon injury; complete repair is still the first line treatment for massive rotator cuff tears, but partial repair is possible for massive rotator cuff tears that could not be completely repaired;patch augmentation technology could bring good results for young patients with high functional requirements;for patients with limited internal and external rotation of the shoulder joint and high functional requirements, tendon transfers surgery is recommended;superior capsular reconstruction is more advantageous for young patients with no obvious glenohumeral arthritis, better deltoid muscle strength and higher functional requirements. In addition, subacromial spacer implantation has become a current research hotspot due to its advantages of small trauma, low cost and relative safety, and its long-term effect still needs to be further confirmed.
Keywords: Arthroscopes; Review; Rotator cuff tears.