To Compare the Diagnostic Consistency of Shoulder MRI and Shoulder US after Rotator Cuff Repair

Objective: Ultrasonography (US) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are widely used radiological methods for the evaluation of the rotator cuff. Our purpose is to compare the accuracy of US and MRI in the diagnosis of rotator cuff injuries that underwent shoulder surgery. Material and Methods: A total of 24 patients who had undergone rotator cuff repair surgery were evaluated by MRI and US examinations. The study group included 5 men and 19 women, aged 36-72 years, who had undergone rotator cuff repair in the last 10-20 months. All individuals were right-sided. The right shoulder was operated on in 16 patients, and the left one was operated on in the rest. All patients were evaluated by physical examination, functional Constant test, shoulder MRI, and US. Results: The supraspinatus tendon could be demonstrated on MRI in 19 of 24 patients. Of these 19 subjects, 8 had tears. In 11 of 19 patients, the supraspinatus tendon was normal. US showed partial thickness tears in 10 and full thickness tears in 6 of 24 patients. US revealed the rotator cuff as normal in 8 patients. The infraspinatus tendon could be identified by MRI in 20 of 24 patients. Of these 20 patients, 17 had intact and 3 had tears of the infraspinatus tendon. US showed partial thickness tears in 4 and full thickness tears in 1 of 24 patients. US revealed the rotator cuff as normal in 19 patients. The mean Constant score value was 90.4 in the functional test. Increased glenohumeral joint fluid was seen in 20 and acromioclavicular joint fluid was seen in 6 of 24 patients. Conclusion: Our results indicate that MRI and US findings are in strong consistency (kappa means, 0.75) in the evaluation of patients who had surgical repair of rotator cuff injury. US is the preferred imaging method in the evaluation of the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, and biceps tendons on follow-up of these patients.