ARTHROSCOPIC BANKART SUTURE REPAIR

The purpose of this paper was to report our experience with an arthros copic technique of repair for the Bankart lesion following shoulder in stability. Twenty-seven patients (average age, 21.7 years) were follow ed for an average of 36 months after arthroscopic suture stabilization of anterior shoulder instability. Patients were excluded if instabili ty was multidirectional or voluntary and if there was radiographic evi dence of a significant loss of glenoid bone stock. Clinical evaluation using a functional grading system showed that 10 patients were rated as excellent, 5 good, and 12 poor. Fourteen patients returned to their previous level of activity. There were 12 patients rated as failed; a ll had recurrent instability of the shoulder. Success was associated w ith a period of immobilization of 3 weeks or longer and a history of a cute injury, especially subluxation. Failures were associated with sho rter immobilization periods after surgery and in patients who had recu rrent dislocations. The younger patient, who may not have complied wit h the immobilization protocol, also seemed to be associated with failu re. Contact sports seem to leave a patient at high risk for recurrence . We recommend caution in the use of arthroscopic procedures for the c ompetitive athlete in whom a second surgery and rehabilitation might m ean loss of more sports participation.