Trends and projections in surgical stabilization of glenohumeral instability in the United States from 2009 to 2030: rise of the Latarjet procedure and fall of open Bankart repair

There is no simple method available to identify patients who will develop recurrent instability after an arthroscopic Bankart procedure and who would be better served by an open operation. We carried out a prospective case-control study of 131 consecutive unselected patients with recurrent anterior shoulder instability who underwent this procedure using suture anchors. At follow-up after a mean of 31.2 months (24 to 52) 19 (14.5%) had recurrent instability. The following risk factors were identified: patient age under 20 years at the time of surgery; involvement in competitive or contact sports or those involving forced overhead activity; shoulder hyperlaxity; a Hill-Sachs lesion present on an anteroposterior radiograph of the shoulder in external rotation and/or loss of the sclerotic inferior glenoid contour. These factors were integrated in a 10-point pre-operative instability severity index score and tested retrospectively on the same population. Patients with a score over 6 points had an unacceptable recurrence risk of 70% (p < 0.001). On this basis we believe that an arthroscopic Bankart repair is contraindicated in these patients, to whom we now suggest a Bristow-Latarjet procedure instead.

For anterior instability with glenoid bone loss comprising 25% or more of the inferior glenoid diameter (inverted-pear glenoid), the consensus of recent authors is that glenoid bone grafting should be performed. Although the engaging Hill-Sachs lesion has been recognized as a risk factor for recurrent anterior instability, there has been no generally accepted method for quantifying the Hill-Sachs lesion and then integrating that quantification into treatment recommendations, taking into account the geometric interplay of various sizes and various orientations of bipolar (humeral-sided plus glenoid-sided) bone loss. We have developed a method (both radiographic and arthroscopic) that uses the concept of the glenoid track to determine whether a Hill-Sachs lesion will engage the anterior glenoid rim, whether or not there is concomitant anterior glenoid bone loss. If the Hill-Sachs lesion engages, it is called an "off-track" Hill-Sachs lesion; if it does not engage, it is an "on-track" lesion. On the basis of our quantitative method, we have developed a treatment paradigm with specific surgical criteria for all patients with anterior instability, both with and without bipolar bone loss.

The epidemiology of traumatic shoulder dislocations is poorly understood. The aim of the current study was to determine the incidence of shoulder dislocations presenting to hospital emergency departments in the United States and define demographic risk factors for these injuries. The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, a probability sample of all injuries presenting to emergency departments in the United States, was queried for shoulder dislocations from 2002 through 2006. Patient and injury characteristics were analyzed. United States Census data were utilized to calculate incidence rates for the United States population and subgroups. Incidence rate ratios were then calculated with respect to age, sex, and race. A total of 8940 shoulder dislocations were identified, resulting in an overall incidence rate in the United States of 23.9 (95% confidence interval, 20.8 to 27.0) per 100,000 person-years. The male incidence rate was 34.90 (95% confidence interval, 30.08 to 39.73) per 100,000 person-years, with an incidence rate ratio of 2.64 (95% confidence interval, 2.39 to 2.88) relative to the female incidence rate. It was found that 71.8% of the dislocations were in males. Stratified by decade, the maximum incidence rate (47.8 [95% confidence interval, 41.0 to 54.5]) occurred in those between the ages of twenty and twenty-nine years; 46.8% of all dislocations were in patients between fifteen and twenty-nine years of age. There were no significant differences based on race. Dislocations most frequently resulted from a fall (58.8%) and occurred at home (47.7%) or at sites of sports or recreation (34.5%). Overall, 48.3% of injuries occurred during sports or recreation. The estimated incidence rate of shoulder dislocations in the United States is 23.9 per 100,000 person-years, which is approximately twice the previously reported value. A young age and male sex are risk factors for shoulder dislocation in the United States population.