Bone Grafting of Humeral Head Cystic Defects During Rotator Cuff Repair

Cystic bony defects of the humeral head greater tuberosity are often encountered during rotator cuff repair. These defects may be idio­pathic, related to a patient’s rotator cuff disease, or secondary to suture anchor placement from previous repairs. Some cysts are visible on preoperative magnetic resonance imaging, but most are discovered on footprint exploration or implant removal during revision surgery. These osseous defects reduce bio­logical healing capacity and may decrease repair fixation strength. Bone grafting techniques are need­ed to address these defects. In this article, we present an arthroscopic allograft compaction technique with concomitant suture anchor rotator cuff repair.