What Does My MRI Test Result Indicate?

Posted on Sat, 28 May 2016

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sat, 28 May 2016 Answered on

Thu, 30 Jun 2016 Last reviewed on

Question : I am a 78 year old male in good health who had a recent fall that resulted in rotator cuff damage. My MRI shows full-thickness tear of the supraspinatus and anterior infraspinatus and subscapularis tendons with fiber retraction, as well as a partial thickness tear (*80%) of the mid infraspinatus tendon. What is the prognosis for surgical repair of these conditions?

Answered by Dr. Dr. Naveen Kumar Sharma (38 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
There is very good prognosis

Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Cuff surgery is very successful and can be done by arthroscopic method. So no big incision is needed. If it is done by expert surgeon then prognosis is good. Prognosis is guarded if patient has old tear with retraction more then 1 cm. Or if patient has diabetes. Even in this situation pain relief is good. So I would recommend you to go ahead with this surgery.
After surgery good rehabilitation is needed. Start physiotherapy as soon as your doctor permits.
Let me know if their is any other followup questions.
thanks

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar