The Role of Arthroscopic Decompression in Subacromial Impingement Syndrome

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical results of patients who hadarthroscopic subacromial decompression for the diagnosis of subacromial impingement syndrome which is characterized by compression of the coracoacromial arc onrotator cuff tendons.Patients and Methods: We have evaluated the Constant scores, rest VAS and motion VAS scores of 25 patients who had arthroscopic subacromial decompressionafter six months of failed conservative treatment, at the preoperative day, 15th dayand 6th month after the operation.Results: There was a statistically significant difference between pre-operative and15th day / 6th month scores with Mann Whitney U test (p <0.0001). We found that thepatients’ pain decreased and shoulder functions improved statistically.Conclusion: We believe that the choice of treatment for early stages of subacromialimpingement syndrome is conservative, but if complaints persist even six monthsafter conservative treatment, then arthroscopic subacromial decompression is a goodchoice of treatment.