Open Surgeries: Major Infection Risk Post RC Repair

Who the patient is and how the surgery is done…do those influence postoperative infection rates when it comes to rotator cuff repair? Yes, says a new study just published in Arthroscopy. Bryan G. Vopat, M.D., senior investigator Andrew Green M.D. and colleagues conducted the study at Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown University. Dr. Vopat reviewed 1, 824 rotator cuff repairs performed by the senior surgeon from 1995 to 2010. He told OTW, “We found 14 individuals who developed postoperative infections, 185 controls did not. The most interesting finding from our study was that open/mini open rotator cuff repairs had an increased risk of infection when compared to arthroscopic repairs. It was also of note that as body mass index increased there was a reduction in the risk of infection, however the clinical significance of this was questioned due to the small difference between groups.”

“This study further demonstrates the value of arthroscopic rotator cuff repairs to our patients when compared to open techniques and allows for us to reduce the risk of infections after a rotator cuff repair.”

“The results of this case control study demonstrate that open or mini-open surgical technique and male sex are significant risk factors for infection after rotator cuff repair. In our study, arthroscopic rotator cuff repair reduced the risk of infection compared with open techniques.”