Abstract
Over a six-year period, one surgeon operated on 46 men with instability associated with antero-inferior glenoid loss. Thirty-three of them played rugby at a competitive level. The mean number of preoperative dislocations was five (2 to 22). Modifications included a change in orientation of the coracoid bone block and the addition of capsular closure.
A Walch-Duplay score for instability was calculated at follow-up. The mean follow-up was 38 months with a minimum of 6 months. Only one patient had recurrent instability. Thirty-one returned to sport at the same level. Walch-Duplay scores were excellent in 70%, good in 25%, mild in 3.75% and poor in 1.25%. Complications included two fibrous unions (excellent outcome), three broken screws (excellent outcome) and two fixation failures owing to patient non-compliance.
There was no decrease in the range of internal rotation. Eight patients had mild restriction in forward flexion (mean 5°) and 20 patients had mildly reduced external rotation at 90° abduction (mean 5°). All but one patient with recurrent dislocation rated the outcome excellent and would have the operation again. The Latarjet procedure confers outstanding stability and gives excellent subjective and objective outcomes.
The abstracts were prepared by Professor M. B. E. Sweet. Correspondence should be addressed to him at PO Box 47363, Parklands, Johannesburg 2121, South Africa.
