To evaluate the effectiveness of an US-guided percutaneous treatment of calcific tendinopathy in tendons outside the rotator cuff. The term “calcific tendinitis” refers to the intratendinous deposition of calcium, predominantly carbonate apatite, that can affect every tendon in the body and especially the rotator cuff (RC, 20% of painful shoulder), where the most frequently affected tendon is supraspinatus (80%). With a similar pathogenesis to RC calcific tendinitis ( Fig. 4 ), the most accepted theory for this condition is the "hypovascular theory", where particular portions...

31 patients (20F, 11M, mean age 44±8) affected by symptomatic calcific tendinopathy were treated with a percutaneous US-guided approach, for a total amount of 31 tendons ( Fig. 5 Fig. 6 Fig. 7 ): • 18 gluteus medius; • 2 gluteus maximus; • 1 extensor carpi radialis longus; • 2 common extensor digitorum; • 2 rectus femoris; • 1 ilio-tibial band; • 1 peroneus longus; • 4 patellar. Clinical outcome was measured by means of a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) ( Fig. 16 ) at...

VAS scoring (from 0=no pain to 10=unbearable pain Fig. 16 ) was collected at baseline, at 1 and 3 months after the procedure. Our results: VAS at Baseline: 8.9 ± 0.5; VAS at 1 month: 4.6 ± 0.6; VAS at 3 months: 3.9 ± 0.4; P<0.001; No short nor long term complications; Mild post procedure pain (resolved in 24 hours) was observed in 5/31 patients (16%); Duration of the procedure: 10-20 minutes.

US-guided percutaneous lavage of tendinous calcifications is a widely tested treatment on the shoulder. However, this procedure represents an effective, minimally invasive treatment also when calcifications affect other tendons of the body, with a significant and prompt pain reduction. Also, it is low-time consuming (10-20 minutes), low cost and virtually complication-free. A short learning curve is however requested to take confidence in managing the optimal scanning technique.

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