Long-term Clinical and Anatomical Evaluation of Edge-to-edge Repair of Large to Very Large Rotator Cuff Tears

Rotator cuff disorders range from impingement syndrome to partial or through-and-through tears. Partial tears most commonly affect the deep layer of the tendon, whilst through-and-through tears are characterised by a complete break in the tendon. Large to very large rotator cuff tears, where repairable, can be managed using equivalent transosseous repair and double-row repair. When direct anatomical tendon-to-bone repair is no longer possible, margin convergence (MC) suturing (also known as edge-to-edge suturing) is proposed. Studies have compared clinical outcomes between MC and other conventional techniques, but these results remain inconsistent and many studies have not ensured a sufficiently long period of patient follow-up to assess long-term clinical outcomes, resulting in an insufficient level of evidence regarding these outcomes. This is why this study has been initiated.