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Rotator cuff repair is more painful than other arthroscopic shoulder procedures

  • Arthroscopy and Sports Medicine
  • Published:
Archives of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Aim

To evaluate the influence of the specific procedure performed and other variables on the intensity of acute postoperative pain following outpatient shoulder arthroscopy.

Methods

One hundred patients undergoing outpatient shoulder arthroscopy under single-shot interscalene block plus general anaesthesia were prospectively studied. Acetaminophen with ibuprofen was prescribed for postoperative pain control and tramadol HCl as rescue medication. Patients scored pain intensity at 2, 6, and 24 h postoperatively. The influence of the surgical procedure, age, gender, surgery duration, and irrigation volume used on the intensity of postoperative pain was studied.

Results

Five patients were excluded due to ineffective block or protocol deviation. Among the 95 remaining patients, 51 underwent rotator cuff tear repair, 25 shoulder stabilisation, and 19 subacromial decompression. While there were no differences at 2 and 6 h after surgery, pain intensity was significantly higher among those undergoing rotator cuff tear repair (5.2, 1–10) at 24 h compared to stabilisation (4.1, 1–8) or subacromial decompression (5, 1–8) (p < 0.0001). No association was found between pain intensity and other variables.

Conclusion

A higher degree of acute postoperative pain should be expected in patients undergoing arthroscopic rotator cuff tear repair compared to other arthroscopic shoulder procedures, and additional pain treatment is recommended.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology, IIS Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Universidad Autónoma, Avda. Reyes Católicos, 2, 28040, Madrid, Spain

    Emilio Calvo & Diana Morcillo

  2. Department of Anaesthesiology, IdIPaz, Hospital Universitario La Paz, Universidad Autónoma, Madrid, Spain

    Maria Dolores Torres

  3. Department of Anaesthesiology, IIS Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Universidad Autónoma, Madrid, Spain

    Victorino Leal

Authors
  1. Emilio Calvo
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  2. Maria Dolores Torres
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  3. Diana Morcillo
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  4. Victorino Leal
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Emilio Calvo.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

The Institutional Review Board of Hospital Universitario Fundación Jiménez Díaz (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid) approved the study (no. EO 05/2009).

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Calvo, E., Torres, M.D., Morcillo, D. et al. Rotator cuff repair is more painful than other arthroscopic shoulder procedures. Arch Orthop Trauma Surg 139, 669–674 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00402-018-3100-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00402-018-3100-0

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