Abstract
BACKGROUND: Interposition grafting (IG), also called bridging grafting, and superior capsular reconstruction (SCR) are the most commonly used joint-preserving surgical methods for irreparable rotator cuff tears (RCTs). PURPOSE: To compare the effectiveness of IG versus SCR to treat patients with irreparable RCTs. STUDY DESIGN: Systematic review; Level of evidence, 4. METHODS: A literature search was performed in MEDLINE, Embase, and Scopus. Included in this review were clinical studies evaluating the effect of IG or SCR in patients with irreparable RCTs with a minimum follow-up of 1 year. Various clinical results from the studies were extracted and compared between IG and SCR, and among them, the results of the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons score, graft retear rate, and complication rate were included in the meta-analysis. RESULTS: Of 1638 identified articles, 17 (10 studies of IG involving 321 patients and 7 studies of SCR involving 357 patients) were selected. Both surgical methods showed significantly improved clinical outcomes in all but 1 study; however, the IG group had lower pain visual analog scale score, higher Constant score, and bigger active forward flexion and internal rotation compared with the SCR group (all P < .001). The meta-analysis showed no difference in the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons score between groups (P = .44), but showed a significantly lower complication rate in the IG group compared with the SCR group (1.12% vs 8.37%, respectively; P < .001). The graft retear rate was not significantly different between groups (IG = 10.64% vs SCR = 12.67%; P = .79). The meta-analysis of graft type indicated no difference between groups in retear rate (autograft: 95% CI, 0.045-0.601; I (2) = 93.28 [IG], 91.27 [SCR]; P = .22; allograft: 95% CI, 0.041-0.216; I (2) = 80.39 [IG], 69.12 [SCR]; P = .64) or complication rate (autograft: 95% CI, 0.009-0.150; I (2) = 0 [IG], 65.89 [SCR]; P = .25; allograft: 95% CI, 0.012-0.081; I (2) = 0 [IG], 30.62 [SCR]; P = .09). CONCLUSION: Both IG and SCR techniques resulted in improvement in patients with irreparable RCTs. Meta-analysis showed a lower complication rate in the IG group; however, the lack of randomized studies limited our conclusions.