Barbotage for Calcific Tendinopathy

Barbotage is an ultrasound-guided procedure in which a needle is placed into a calcific deposit in a tendon and saline is repeatedly injected and withdrawn to break up and wash out the calcium. It is also called ultrasound-guided percutaneous lavage (UGPL) or needling and lavage.

In sport and exercise medicine (SEM) it is used almost entirely for calcific tendinopathy of the rotator cuff, most often supraspinatus. Clearing the deposit and relieving symptoms are not the same thing: deposits are common in shoulders that do not hurt, and many resolve on their own.

This page covers:

• •How barbotage is performed and the aftercare
• •What the evidence shows, including a sham-controlled trial
• •Where it fits among the other options for calcific shoulder disease