Background
Anterior dislocation is the most common type of shoulder dislocation, and
even after appropriate treatment, recurrence after a primary traumatic
anterior dislocation is highly frequent. Surgical options for treating
recurrent anterior dislocations mainly include Bankart arthroscopic and
Latarjet open surgery. We aimed to evaluate the outcomes and complication
rates of the open Latarjet procedure in a series of patients with recurrent
anterior shoulder dislocation.
Methods
A total of 55 patients with recurrent anterior shoulder dislocation who
underwent an open Latarjet procedure were included in this retrospective
cohort study. Shoulder range of motion and postoperative complications,
including neurapraxia, re-dislocation, hematoma, infection, dehiscence,
implant failure, and pain, were evaluated.
Results
The mean age of the patients was 27.7 ± 6.5 years . The mean time interval
after the first dislocation was 3.4 ± 2.7 years . The mean
preoperative and postoperative forward flexion (
P
= 0.200),
abduction (
P
= 0.200), external rotation (
P
= 0.066), and internal rotation (
P
= 0.310) were not
significantly different. Postoperative complications included 1 case of
postoperative musculocutaneous nerve neurapraxia, 1 case of re- dislocation,
1 case of wound dehiscence, and 2 cases of screw breakage. Postoperative
pain was also recorded in 11 (20%) patients that were either in the form of
occasional night pain (n = 6) or activity-dependent pain (n = 5).
Conclusion
Open Latarjet procedure is an efficient procedure for the treatment of
recurrent anterior shoulder dislocation. However, its rate of complications
remains relatively high, and surgeons must consider this drawback in their
decision-making and address patients' expectations.