IS THERE STILL A PLACE TODAY FOR NEER’S CAPSULAR SHIFT REPAIR IN ATHLETS WITH RECURRENT ANTERIOR SHOULDER DISLOCATION

Abstract

Introduction: Various surgical methods have been described to manage the problem of recurrent anterior dislocation of the shoulder. Older procedures Putti-Platt’s, Magnuson-Stack’s or Bristow;’s and Boytchev’s repair are not used today due to a high percentage of failure of 7%–17% incidence of recurrence associated with limited ROM. However, in the last decade the goal of treatment has changed. It is directed now towards restoration of normal function with full ROM of the affected shoulder, based mainly on arthroscopic stabilization or on “open” Neer’s capsular shift procedures combined with Bankart’s repair. However, during the last few years there are more and more papers dealing with a surprising unexpected high number of patients with shoulder instability following arthroscopic repair. The purpose of this study is to review the long term results of “open” Neer’s capsular shift procedure

Materials & Methods: This is a presentation of 87 (78M; 9F) consecutive patients, 19 to 47 year old (mean 23 Y) with a length of follow-up of 4Y–15Y (mean 6Y). 45 of them with traumatic recurrent anterior dislocation of the shoulder had a capsular shift procedure according to Rockwood’s modification. In 42 other patients that had a multidirectional instability with proved dislocations of the affected shoulder a Protzman’s modified capsular shift procedure was used.

Results: 82/87 patients had a stable shoulder without recurrent dislocation. 3 patients had an episode of traumatic shoulder dislocation within 2 months following operation. Two other patients of 42 with multidirectional instability had a recurrence of traumatic dislocation. One patient developed partial brachial plexus injury, most probably due to traction of the affected limb following operation. 78/87 had at follow-up normal shoulder function with full ROM, and the remaining 9 patients had only a slight limitation in shoulder abduction and in external rotation.

Conclusions: Based on this study, it is suggested that capsular shift procedure is an excellent method for repair of recurrent anterior shoulder dislocation, preferable to the “older” procedures, and allows restoration of shoulder stability with better functional results. This is suitable mainly for patients with structural hyperlaxity and multidirectional instability, whereas arthroscopic stabilization might be used in patients with true traumatic instability.