A prospective, randomized evaluation of arthroscopic stabilization versus nonoperative treatment in patients with acute, traumatic, first-time shoulder dislocations

Background: Nonoperative treatment of traumatic shoulder dislocations leads to a high rate of recurrent dislocations. Hypothesis: Early arthroscopic treatment for shoulder dislocation will result in a lower recurrence rate than nonoperative treatment. Study Design: Prospective, randomized clinical trial. Methods: Two groups of patients were studied to compare nonoperative treatment with arthroscopic Bankart repair for acute, traumatic shoulder dislocations in young athletes. Fourteen nonoperatively treated patients underwent 4 weeks of immobilization followed by a supervised rehabilitation program. Ten operatively treated patients underwent arthroscopic Bankart repair with a bioabsorbable tack followed by the same rehabilitation protocol as the nonoperatively treated patients. The average follow-up was 36 months. Results: Three patients were lost to follow-up. Twelve nonoperatively treated patients remained for follow-up. Nine of these (75%) developed recurrent instability. Six of the nine have required subsequent open Bankart repair for recurrent instability. Of the nine operatively treated patients available for follow-up, only one (11.1%) developed recurrent instability. Conclusions: Arthroscopic stabilization of traumatic, first-time anterior shoulder dislocations is an effective and safe treatment that significantly reduces the recurrence rate of shoulder dislocations in young athletes when compared with conventional, nonoperative treatment.