RECURRENT POSTERIOR SHOULDER DISLOCATION IN CHILDREN - THE RESULTS OFSURGICAL-MANAGEMENT

Recurrent posterior dislocation of the glenohumeral joint in children is rare. Because very few studies in the literature deal with the surg ical management of this problem or guidelines for patient selection fo r surgery, we reviewed the outcomes of surgical management of six pati ents aged 9-17 years. Of the seven shoulders repaired, three underwent a posterior bone block and four a glenoplasty, all augmented with a p osterior Putti-Platt type capsulorrhaphy. Only one child required reop eration 3.5 years after the initial surgery. All patients had pain-fre e full use of the affected shoulder, and all shoulders were clinically stable at long-term follow-up averaging 9.4 years. By using the avail able literature and the results of this study, we developed a series o f guidelines for the selection of children with recurrent posterior di slocation of the shoulder for surgical repair.