Shoulder Tendon Repair Biomechanics Using a Polyurethane Patch in a Chronic Ovine Defect Model

Rotator cuff disorders are one of the most common soft tissue injuries of the musculoskeletal system [1], second only to lower back pain presentations in clinical frequency [2]. Surgical repairs of chronic, massive rotator cuff tears are associated with a high rate of complications, typically by full or partial re-rupture of the repair [3,4]. The literature is replete with clinical retrospective studies or evaluation of cadaveric shoulders [5], however these studies do not address the in vivo healing characteristics of a given surgical repair. The purpose of this study was to quantitatively describe the degree of shoulder healing via biomechanical analyses using an ovine chronic infraspinatus model that was repaired with and without a polyurethane scaffold rotator cuff repair (RCR) patch.