The advent of the arthroscope has revolutionized orthopaedic surgery, particularly for injuries to the knee or shoulder. The enhanced visualization accompanied by minimal soft tissue injury afforded by the arthroscope has been applied successfully to the treatment of many shoulder girdie pathologies, most notably impingement syndrome and rotator cuff injuries. As such, the traditional open surgery with the incumbent morbidity, while still utilized for more complex tears is finding less application in smaller tears to the rotator cuff. This review will address the history, indications, technique, and results of arthroscopic rotator cuff repair.
