Arthroscopic suture-bridge repair of small and medium supraspinatus tears: a simplified Lassoloop technique with single medial and knotless lateral anchors.

BACKGROUND: The transition in arthroscopic rotator cuff repair from single-row to double-row techniques has highlighted the efficacy of the suture-bridge configuration in providing enhanced biomechanical stability and coverage of the footprint. However, traditional methods often require multiple anchors and complex knot-tying procedures, resulting in prolonged surgical duration and increased costs. This study evaluated a customized suture-bridge approach incorporating a Simplified LassoLoop Suture, utilizing a single medial row anchor and a knotless lateral row anchor, to treat small to medium-sized rotator cuff tears. METHODS: A retrospective review was conducted on 132 patients who received treatment at Jingzhou Hospital, Affiliated with Yangtze University, between June 2021 and June 2022. All patients underwent arthroscopic repair utilizing the specified technique. Clinical outcomes were evaluated preoperatively and at the final follow-up using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) shoulder rating scale, and Constant-Murley score. RESULTS: The arthroscopic repair was conducted on 132 patients with small to medium Rotator cuff tears using simplified lassoloop suture technology. The procedure involved a single medium-row suture anchor and knotless lateral Row anchor for suture bridge fixation. Patients were followed up for 12-30 months (mean 23.9 ± 1.75 months) with no observed complications such as joint infection, anchor failure, or Rotator cuff re-tear. All surgical incisions healed without complications. Postoperative pain, assessed by the VAS score, decreased significantly from 7.6 ± 0.5 points preoperatively to 1.1 ± 0.3 points. Functional outcomes, evaluated using the UCLA shoulder rating score, improved considerably from 11.4 ± 1.0 before surgery to 33.0 ± 0.7 postoperatively. The constant-Murley score also significantly increased from 56.4 ± 2.4 before surgery to 94.9 ± 1.1 after surgery. Postoperative range of motion significantly improved compared to preoperative levels (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The Simplified LassoLoop Suture Technique simplifies rotator cuff repair and yielded favorable short-term clinical outcomes for small-to-medium supraspinatus tears while maintaining a streamlined surgical workflow. Although the construct is conceptually intended to capture some features associated with dual-row fixation, our study did not test biomechanical performance, operative time, or cost; these hypotheses warrant validation in comparative and biomechanical studies.