Arthroscopic Intramuscular Side-to-Side Repair of an Isolated Infraspinatus Tear

Abstract

Intramuscular, full-thickness rotator cuff tears are uncommon and present a challenging clinical scenario for repair because traditional suture anchor or transosseous repair techniques are less feasible. The goal of repair is to achieve a tension-free reduction of both ends of the muscle to allow for adequate healing over time. Intramuscular tears of the infraspinatus specifically have rarely been reported. The clinical presentation of these patients can be challenging to interpret, and other causes of rotator cuff dysfunction, including compression to the suprascapular nerve, must be ruled out. In this Technical Note, we describe our technique for arthroscopic side-to-side suture repair of an isolated intramuscular infraspinatus tear.