Imaging of the Shoulder I

Abstract

In the patient with suspected rotator cuff disorder, the decision to perform conventional or arthrography magnetic resonance (MR) imaging depends on the clinical need to identify and distinguish partial tears from small complete tears. Pre-operative assessment of the size and location of a cuff tear, the presence of intra-substance propagation, and the quality of the retracted tendon margin are other important aspects that must be considered as well. In older patients, in whom surgery would be performed only to repair complete cuff tears, conventional MR images are sufficient to differentiate torn, retracted tendons from normal tendons and to demonstrate bony abnormalities of the coracoacromial arch. In athletes and younger patients, in whom surgery would be performed to repair partial cuff tears, MR arthrography can optimize anatomical resolution and diagnostic confidence.