Diamondback repair optimizes pressurized contact area in rotator cuff tear treatment

Researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio discovered the diamondback double row (DBK) repair significantly increased rotator cuff pressurized contact area compared to other constructs to repair torn rotator cuffs.

The researchers compared tendon-bone footprint contact area over time under physiologic loads for four different rotator cuff repair techniques: single row, triangle double row, chain-link double row and DBK, according to the study abstract.

Researchers created supraspinatus tears in 28 human cadavers and fixed the tears with one of the four constructs. They made immediate post-repair measurements of pressurized contact area in neutral rotation and 0° abduction. After using a static tensile load, pressurized contact area was observed over a 160-minute period after the repair. Cyclic loading was then performed.

According to the abstract, the results showed DBK repair had the highest pressurized contact area initially, as well as the highest pressurized contact area and lowest percentage decrease in pressurized contact area after 160 minutes of testing. The investigators concluded that DBK can significantly increase the rotator cuff pressurized contact area when there is sufficient tendon mobility to perform a double-row repair without excessive tension on the repair site.