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Introduction: this study describes the technique and results of arthroscopic repair of small and medium-sized rotator cuff tears in a philanthropic hospital linked to an educational institution.Materials and methods: we assessed fifty-seven patients who underwent arthroscopic surgery to treat complete rotator cuff tears (<3 cm) from January to December 2014 (mean age: 54.7) and were followed for at least two years (mean follow-up time: 147 weeks).Cases evaluated with the UCLA Shoulder Rating Scale after at least two years of follow-up were classified as poor in 1.8% of cases, 15.8% as fair, 52.6% as good, and 29.8% as excellent. Average preoperative and postoperative UCLA scores were 12.4 and 31.7, respectively. Mean values for pain assessed by the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) also improved significantly, from 8.6 to 1.9.Results: for patients over age fifty-five, age was positively associated (r = 0.577) with a greater difference in VAS score between preoperative and postoperative evaluations; in other words, older patients experienced less pain after at least two years of follow-up.Conclusion: arthroscopic repair yielded good and excellent results in 82.4% of cases with at least two years of follow-up, especially for patients in the 55+ age group. The technique described proved effective for treating these types of tears, as well as a good low-cost option

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OBJECTIVE: To identify the patient profile that obtains better clinical and quality of life improvement after lumbar spinal stenosis surgery, comparing the results in the pre and postoperative periods. METHODS: Thirty-seven patients with lumbar spine stenosis submitted to surgery were prospectively evaluated. Through the 36-Item Short Form General Health Survey (SF-36) questionnaire we performed a preoperative analysis to identify morbidities and social security benefit earning. The SF-36 is a subjective postoperative questionnaire to assess surgical success six months after the surgery. RESULTS: There were unfavorable outcomes in patients who received social security benefits and in those who had morbidities. According to the SF-36 score, the surgical result is better when the patient is non-smoker (p=0.05), non-hypertense (p=0.040), non-diabetic (p =0.010) or non sedentary (p=0.019), respectively on mental health, pain, social aspects and general health domains. CONCLUSION: The patient profiles that best benefit from the surgery are those who do not have morbidities and had no social security benefit. Evidence Level II, Prospective Study.

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First-rib fractures are uncommon and are generally related to major thoracic trauma: so much so that they serve to indicate the severity of the trauma. Isolated bilateral first-rib fractures without major thoracic trauma are rarely described in the literature. The symptoms may go unnoticed and be minimized, thus making this condition difficult to diagnose. The present report presents a case of direct trauma on the supraclavicular region with symptoms of contusion of the brachial plexus, caused by a fall from a jet ski while a life vest was being used. The literature was reviewed to show the various facets of the problem and the treatment for this condition was discussed.