Arthroscopic Repair of Partial Thickness Articular-Side Rotator Cuff Tears: Transtendon Versus Conversion Repair Techniques

December 15, 2025 updated by: Mahmoud Ahmed El-Desouky, Cairo University

Arthroscopic Repair of Partial Thickness Articular Side Rotator Cuff Tears Using Transtendon Versus Conversion Repair Techniques.

This prospective randomized clinical trial compared two arthroscopic techniques for repairing partial-thickness articular-side rotator cuff tears: transtendon repair and conversion repair. Eligible patients with symptomatic tears exceeding 50% of tendon thickness, confirmed by MRI and intraoperative assessment, were randomly assigned to either repair technique. Functional outcomes, range of motion, complications, and MRI healing were assessed up to 24 months postoperatively

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

54

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Egypt
      • Cairo, Egypt
        • Kasr Alainy

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients suffering symptomatic PT-RCTs exceeding 50% of the tendon thickness, documented by preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and confirmed by arthroscopy intraoperative.
  • Failure of nonoperative management for at least 3 months.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Prior shoulder surgery.
  • Severe concomitant pathologies including glenohumeral arthritis, advanced subscapularis tear, and biceps tendon rupture.
  • Associated Bankart lesion.
  • Patients with uncontrolled Diabetes mellites.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Conversion Repair
Patients with PT-RCTs treated using the arthroscopic conversion technique.
Procedure: Arthroscopic Conversion Repair
Patients undergo arthroscopic conversion repair, where the partial-thickness tear is converted to a full-thickness tear and repaired using standard arthroscopic techniques.
Active Comparator: Transtendon Repair
Patients with PT-RCTs treated using the arthroscopic transtendon repair technique.
Procedure: Arthroscopic Transtendon Repair
Patients undergo arthroscopic transtendon repair, preserving the intact bursal surface of the tendon while repairing the articular-side defect using suture anchors.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) Score
Time Frame: Baseline and 24 months postoperatively
Baseline and 24 months postoperatively
Constant-Murley Score (CMS)
Time Frame: Baseline and 24 months postoperatively
Baseline and 24 months postoperatively
Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for Pain
Time Frame: Baseline and 24 months postoperatively
Baseline and 24 months postoperatively

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Range of Motion (ROM)
Time Frame: Preoperative and 24 months postoperatively.

Measure the range of:

  1. Forward flexion
  2. Abduction
  3. External rotation
  4. Internal rotation
Preoperative and 24 months postoperatively.
Complication Rate
Time Frame: Up to 24 months postoperatively

Number of cases with:

Stiffness Persistent pain Infection
Up to 24 months postoperatively
MRI Healing Status
Time Frame: 12 months postoperatively
Number of cases with complete healing in MRI
12 months postoperatively

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Cairo University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

October 1, 2019

Primary Completion (Actual)

March 30, 2023

Study Completion (Actual)

March 30, 2023

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

November 15, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

December 15, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

December 17, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

December 17, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

December 15, 2025

Last Verified

December 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • N-383-2019

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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