Patients undergoing primary arthroscopic rotator cuff repair will have their repair completed with ActivBraid™Collagen Co-Braid suture (Zimmer Biomet).

ActivBraid™ is a suture made from approximately half ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene and and half collagen derived from cow skin. Collagen is the most abundant protein in our bodies and serves as the building block for tendons and bones. The collagen in ActivBraid™ is intended to enhance cell attachment and tissue integration which may improve the healing of a rotator cuff repair. ActivBraid™ suture has been shown to have equivalent strength as other high strength sutures used in orthopaedic procedures and has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for repairing tendons. ActivBraid™ is a commercially available product that has been and is used in humans. This is the first post-market clinical study with ActivBraid™.

Patients will undergo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the shoulder from which healing of their rotator cuff repair will be classified using Sugaya score from 1-5, where higher score indicated worse healing.

Patients will also undergo computed tomography (CT) scans of the shoulder from which tendon retraction of the rotator cuff repair will also be measured in millimeters where higher tendon retraction indicates worse healing.

Patients will be asked to answer the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) Score from 0-100 points where higher score indicates better outcome.