Sajid Ejaz Rao, Sohail Muzammil, Nigel John Hobbs.
Subacromial decompression for shoulder impingement syndrome.
J Coll Physicians Surg Pak Jan ;16(3):208-11.

Objective: To evaluate the results in a consecutive series of patients who underwent subacromial decompression for shoulder impingement syndrome. Design: Interventional quasi experimental study. Place and Duration of Study: Orthopaedic Department at St Mary`s Hospital, Isle of Wight Healthcare England from May 1999 to August 2001. Patients and Methods: Twenty five consecutive shoulders from 22 patients who underwent subacromial decompression for shoulder impingement syndrome were studied. Nineteen out of 25 shoulders were in stage I or II and 6 had stage III disease, having rotator cuff tear. All patients had a median 10 months course of conservative treatment before surgery. Patients were followed-up for 6 to 24 months postoperatively and assessed by clinical examination and the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) shoulder rating scale. Results were analysed by Wilcoxon`s non-parametric test for internal comparison. Results: The differences in pre- and postoperative scores for pain, function, active forward flexion, strength of forward flexion and overall patient satisfaction were improved with p-values < 0.01 in for each. This was an overall improvement in 88% cases. Conclusion: Subacromial decompression is an effective treatment for shoulder impingement syndrome. Accurate diagnosis, careful patient selection and appropriate surgical intervention results in a successful outcome and return to normal activities in majority of patients.

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