01-11-2012 | Shoulder
Dislocation arthropathy and drill hole appearance in a mid- to long-term follow-up study after arthroscopic Bankart repair
Published in: Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy | Issue 11/2012
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Purpose
The aim of this study was to perform a prospective mid- to long-term clinical and radiographic follow-up after arthroscopic Bankart repair using absorbable tacks with special emphasis on the development of dislocation arthropathy.
Methods
Thirty-four shoulders in 32 patients with post-traumatic shoulder instability were included in the study. Clinical and radiographic follow-ups took place after approximately 2 and 8 years.
Results
Thirty-four of 34 (100 %) shoulders in 32 patients returned for the follow-up examination after 95 (53–129) months. Pre-operatively, none of the shoulders had any arthropathy changes. At follow-up, 8/34 (24 %) had minor changes, 6/34 (18 %) had moderate changes, and none had severe arthropathy changes, a significant increment compared with the pre-operative figures (p = 0.005). At follow-up, the drill holes in 24 % of the shoulders still had not healed radiographically. The failure rate in terms of stability was 3/34 (9 %) re-dislocations and 3/34 (9 %) subluxations.
Conclusion
Eight years after arthroscopic Bankart repair using absorbable tacks, 41 % of the shoulders displayed some degree of radiographic arthropathy changes and in 24 % the drill holes had not yet radiographically healed. There was no correlation between clinical outcome or drill hole appearance and the development of arthropathy changes.
Level of evidence
III.