Shoulder Function Following Latarjet Procedure for Recurrent Anterior Shoulder Instability

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Abstract

Introduction: Anterior shoulder dislocation and recurrent glenohumeral instability is very common in the young active population. It is usually caused by trauma, and often compounded by associated bony Bankart and Hill-Sachs lesions, which distort the anatomy. This causes instability and dysfunction of the joint and these can be addressed by, amongst others, a Latarjet surgical procedure. Hypothesis: We hypothesize that since the Latarjet procedure results in stability and good functional outcome, our results are expected to compare favourably to the rest of the published literature. Methods: A retrospective study of 31 patients treated with the Latarjet procedure at Helen Joseph hospital, Johannesburg South Africa was undertaken during the period of January 2005 to December 2013. The minimum follow up was 6 months. Stability was assessed looking at re-dislocation rate and the clinical functional outcome was measured using the Constant Score. Results: There were no shoulder re-dislocations and the mean Constant score was 85.35. 74% had a Constant Score above 80. 68% were pain free and 61% had normal activities of daily living while 68% had a full range of motion and 68% had full power. Conclusion: The Latarjet results in stability and good functional outcome. In our patient cohort, the Latarjet procedure provided reliable stability to the shoulder joint. Pain was alleviated, shoulder muscle power was preserved, range of shoulder motion was restored and patients did return to pre injury activities of daily living.