A Comparison of Outcomes After Endoscopic Repair of Partial- Versus Full-Thickness Tears of the Gluteus Medius Tendon

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare the functional outcomes after endoscopic repair of partial or full-thickness gluteus medius tears at a minimum 2 years' follow-up. Methods: Patients with isolated tears of the gluteus medius tendon repaired endoscopically between 2012 and 2017 were evaluated at a minimum 2 years of follow-up. Patients with large, retracted and/or irreducible tears, advanced atrophy, or fatty degeneration or with concomitant other hip pathology were excluded. Functional outcomes were assessed using the modified Harris Hip Score (mHHS), Nonarthritic Hip Score (NAHS), and visual analog scale (VAS) for pain preoperatively and at the last follow-up Results: Forty-six patients, 3 men and 43 women with a mean (SD) age of 63 (9; range, 43-82) years, were included. Thirty-three patients (72%) had partial-thickness tears and 13 (28%) had full-thickness tears. Pain was reduced significantly from a median of 8 (IQR: 6-8) at the preoperative visit to a median of 2 (IQR: 15) at the most recent follow-up (P < .0001). The mHHS and NAHS improved significantly from a median of 44 (IQR: 35-52) to 80 (IQR: 64-87) (P < .0001) and 52 (IQR: 43-56) to 75 (IQR: 66-94) (P < .0001), respectively. These improvements were clinically relevant and surpass the reported minimal clinically important difference. Patients with partial tears had significant functional gains in the mHHS in comparison with patients with full-thickness tears (P = .02). No other statistically significant difference between groups of tear grade was observed. Conclusions: Endoscopic repair of gluteus medius tendon tears yields excellent functional outcomes at a minimum follow-up of 2 years. A lower functional improvement for full-thickness tears was observed; this difference was statistically significant for 1 of the 2 scores evaluated.

Automated summary

The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare the functional outcomes after endoscopic repair of partial or full-thickness gluteus medius tears at a minimum 2 years' follow-up. The study found that endoscopic repair of gluteus medius tendon tears yields excellent functional outcomes at a minimum follow-up of 2 years, with lower functional improvement observed for full-thickness tears compared to partial tears.