Latarjet procedure in patients with multiple recurrent anterior shoulder dislocation and generalized ligamentous laxity

Purpose: Patients with generalized hyperlaxity with frank recurrent anterior shoulder dislocation had high failure rate after conservative and soft tissue stabilization procedures. Our hypothesis is that a Latarjet procedure can provide an alternative successful approach to manage such cases. Methods: This prospective study was conducted on 13 patients with multiple recurrences of anterior shoulder dislocation. The mean age was 24.4 years. They all had generalized ligamentous laxity according to Beighton’s scale with a mean score of six points. Hill–Sach’s lesion was <20 % of the head diameter with no glenoid defect; otherwise, the case was not included in the study. The modification of Burkhart and de Beer “congruent-arc Latarjet procedure” was performed for all patients through a limited deltopectoral approach. Results: Re-dislocation occurred in one case only over the follow-up period. It occurred once after a violent act. Their preoperative mean Rowe score was 47.5 points preoperatively and increased to 91.07 postoperatively. This improvement was statistically highly significant (p value <0.001). The mean range of postoperative external rotation was 69.29°. Conclusion: Latarjet procedure provides a higher success rate in such patients with multiple recurrences regarding both shoulder stability and function compared to capsulolabral repair procedures. Level of evidence: IV. © 2014, Springer-Verlag France.