Kaitlin Zhong wins Publication of the Year (ILP/Honours) for 2,010-patient rotator cuff study

01 Oct Kaitlin Zhong wins Publication of the Year (ILP/Honours) for 2,010-patient rotator cuff study

Kaitlin Zhong has won the UNSW St George & Sutherland Clinical Campuses Publication of the Year Award in the ILP/Honours Student category for her paper on what predicts patient-rated benefit after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair.

Surgeons judge a rotator cuff repair by whether it stays intact. Patients judge it by whether their shoulder feels better. Kaitlin analysed 2,010 consecutive arthroscopic rotator cuff repairs by Professor George Murrell to identify what drives the patient’s own rating of benefit at six months.

84% of patients reported benefit at six months. The strongest predictor was a poor preoperative shoulder rating: patients who rated their shoulder worst before surgery gained the most. Lower stiffness, a non-work-related injury, stronger internal rotation, strenuous pre-injury work, female sex, larger tear area and weaker abduction strength also independently predicted benefit.

These findings give surgeons a concrete basis for counselling patients on what they can expect from repair.

The award will be formally presented at the St George & Sutherland Hospitals Annual Medical Research Symposium on 15 October 2026.

Congratulations, Kaitlin.