Remnant-preserving bone marrow stimulation technique: arthroscopic repair of acute rotator cuff injuries // BAI Fan, XIANG Bing-yan, ZHOU Yang-yang,DING Chuan,Deng Jiang,ZHOU Yi.The Third Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi 563000, China Abstract: [Objective] To investigate the clinical efficacy of arthroscopic remnant-preserving combined with bone marrow stimulation in the repair of acute rotator cuff tear. [Methods] From May 2018 to May 2020, 64 cases of acute rotator cuff tear were repaired by traditional repair technique (n=32 cases in the traditional group) and remnant-preserving bone marrow stimulation technique (n=32 cases in the improved group) under arthroscopy, respectively. The clinical efficacy of remnant-preserving bone marrow stimulation in arthroscopic repair of acute rotator cuff tears was evaluated by comparing preoperative and final follow-up shoulder function scores, shoulder range of motion, visual pain scores, shoulder MRI, and postoperative complications between the two groups. [Results] The average follow-up time of the 64 patients was (20.2±4.5) months. The visual pain scores of the two groups at the last follow-up were significantly decreased compared with those before surgery (P < 0.01), and the UCLA, ASES, Constant-Murley scores and shoulder range of motion were significantly increased compared with those before surgery (P < 0.01). Sugaya grades were significantly decreased compared with those before surgery (P < 0.05), but there were no significant differences in fat infiltration grades and muscle atrophy grades compared with those before surgery (P > 0.05). At the last follow-up, tendon integrity and retear rate in the improved group were significantly better than those in the traditional group (P < 0.05). [Conclusion] The remnant-preserving bone marrow stimulation technique was used to repair acute rotator cuff tears under arthroscopy, preserving the primary stop of the rotator cuff, relieving the pain of patients, improving the function score of the shoulder joint, improving the range of motion of the shoulder joint, and having a good clinical healing effect, which may provide a new choice for clinicians in the treatment of acute rotator cuff tears.