2 weeks Ago
Pune: Dr Chandrashekhar Gillurkar, a Nagpur-based diabetologist, spent years grappling with a persistent shoulder pain that had disrupted his daily routine, so much so that even simple tasks like lifting his arm, reaching for an object and sleeping had become extremely difficult for the 58-year-old physician. The pain stayed, despite multiple consultations and therapy sessions. And when he was finally diagnosed with massive irreparable rotator cuff tears in both shoulders, standard treatment protocols seemed inadequate.
Conventional repair techniques would not work, and at his age, a full shoulder replacement was not really an option. Things seemed grim until Dr Gillurkar heard about a game-changing procedure from Japan, called Superior Capsule Reconstruction , or SC). The physician underwent an arthroscopic SCR on his dominant right shoulder and a primary arthroscopic repair on his left in Feb last year.
To his surprise, the recovery on his right shoulder, where SCR was performed, was significantly smoother and more effective. "My right shoulder — the one treated with SCR — felt even better than the left. I got my strength back, and the pain that had once controlled my life is now completely gone," he said.
Dr Gillurkar was discharged the day after his surgery, and he was at work four days later. "I was fully fit within four months. I can now play badminton," he said.
In India, SCR is gaining popularity among specialists who recognise its potential. "Instead of replacing the shoulder joint, SCR uses a tissue graft — often harvested from the patient's own thigh muscle — to create a stable new capsule that substitutes the function of the rotator cuff," said Pune-based shoulder surgeon Dr Ashish Babhulkar, among the few specialists in India who regularly performs the arthroscopic SCR technique. SCR was first devised by Japanese surgeon Dr Teruhisa Mihata as an alternative to shoulder replacement for younger patients with massive, irreparable rotator cuff tears.
"The procedure, performed arthroscopically through tiny incisions, avoids large surgical scars and allows for faster recovery with significantly improved shoulder function," Dr Babhulkar said. Dr Babhulkar has successfully completed 25 such procedures since his first in 2016, all with remarkable outcomes. "We have seen significant pain relief, restored function, and no measurable complications.
What's more, three of our patients were themselves doctors who have since resumed their clinical practice without discomfort," he said. Compared to alternative treatments like shoulder replacement, SCR preserves the natural (native) shoulder joint, improves strength, and ensures long-term function. "Most patients experience substantial pain relief within a few months and return to daily activities within six to 12 months," Dr Babhulkar added.
Globally, though, results have been mixed, with specialists maintaining that patient selection is crucial for success. "Surgeons in India have used it with short- to medium-term success, but long-term outcomes are not yet known. Case selection is crucial, and modified approaches using the biceps muscle are also practiced," said senior shoulder surgeon Dr Deepthi Nandan Reddy, president of Shoulder Elbow Society of India — an organisation dedicated to advancing education and research in shoulder and elbow surgery among orthopedic surgeons.
Dr Babhulkar said: "At Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital in Pune, our team completed a study of 12 complex patents with irreparable rotator cuff tear. The ASES scores improved from an average of 26.5 pre-operative to an average of 88 post-operative after six months of surgery.
We have proposed a new scoring system to evaluate the success of SCR surgery and the research has been submitted for publication." The ASES (American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons) score is a 100-point scale used to assess shoulder pain and function..
