Wheeless' Textbook of Orthopaedics Main Menu Home Page Subacromial impingement decompressed with anterior acromioplasty.
Patient selection is crucial.
Arthrography of the shoulder was routinely included in the preoperative diagnostic tools to rule out a tear of the rotator cuff. Since acromial shape may play a role producing a resistant impingement syndrome, special attention should be paid to patients with Type III of acromial inclination. The surgical procedure should include a thorough examination of the subacromial space as a whole, taking notice of all pathologic findings in the subacromial arch as well as in the underlying soft tissues. Restoring subacromial clearance, the patients were relieved of their symptoms. Failure to recognize the associated bony as well as soft-tissue subacromial lesions was, however, a frequent cause of failure of surgical decompression operations.