To evaluate the clinical results of arthroscopic repair for full thickness rotator cuff tears.

One hundred shoulders with arthroscopic rotator cuff repair for full thickness rotator cuff tears, with the exception of massive tears, were enrolled in this study. The average age at the time of surgery was 52 years (range, 23-74 years). The mean follow-up period was 48 months (range, 15-92 months). Thirty-two cases had small-sized tears, 51 cases had medium- sized tears and 17 cases had large-sized tears.

At the final follow-up, the average UCLA score improved from 18.25 to 31.7 with 34 excellent (34%), 55 good (55%) and 11 poor results (11%). The UCLA score was 31.91 in the group less than 50 years of age and 31.54 in the group over 51 years of age (p=0.592). The UCLA score was 31.7in the group of small-sized tears, 31.75 in those with medium-sized tears, and 31.5 in those with large-sized tears (p=0.952). The stiff group had 148° and 154° of forward flexion and abduction, respectively, and non-stiff group had 161o and 163o of forward flexion and abduction, respectively (p=0.046, 0.049).

An arthroscopic repair of full thickness rotator cuff tears produced excellent clinical results. The age and the size of the tear did not affect the results but the stiff group showed inferior results at the range of motion compared with the non-stiff group.