004 SHOULDER ARTHROSCOPY: EARLY COMPLICATIONS AND OPERATIVE EVENTS

Abstract

To evaluate the incidence of early complications and operative events during shoulder arthroscopy.

A prospective study of 134 consecutive shoulder arthroscopies, performed using lateral decubitus position, by the same team, with 6 months minimum follow up. During 11 months period we performed 80 shoulder arthroscopies in male and 54 in female patients with mean age 48.6 years (15–82 years). Shoulder pathology that we treated was: 74 rotator cuff repair, 37 shoulder instability, 11 frozen shoulder, 9 calcifying tendonitis, 2 SLAP lesion and 1 debridement. We have well-placed 476 anchors and 63 side to side sutures.

We experience 4 early complications in total (2.98%): 1 anterior interosseous nerve paresis, that fully recovered 6 weeks post op, 1 motor and sensor ulnar nerve paresis that has not fully recovered 4 months post op, 1 sensor ulnar nerve paresis that has not fully recovered 5 months post op and 1 septic shoulder arthritis that was treated with arthroscopic lavage and intravenous antibiotics and has not shown recurrence 11 months post op.

Operative events: 5 (1.05%) anchor slippage, 3 (0.63%) anchor breakage, 5 (0.53%) suture slippage from anchors, 5 (3.73%) instrument breakage, 5 (0.53%) knot loosening or suture breakage.

Shoulder arthroscopy is a quite safe but technically demanding operation. Early complications occur in low rate, but due to technical difficulties operative events occur more frequently, without affecting the final outcome of the operation. Although axillary nerve is believed to be prone to injury during shoulder arthroscopy, in this series other neurological lesion occurred more frequently.