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Surgery for Shoulder Dislocation: It's not an Open and Closed Case

Is there a difference in results between arthroscopic and open shoulder repairs? Doctors at the University of Calgary Sport Medicine Centre in Calgary, Canada, asked this question. They did a meta-analysis to find out which treatment method is better.

A meta-analysis means the researchers reviewed many studies on this topic. Studies from around the world over many years were included. Key words were put into a computer, and a search was done. All the studies on the subject were reviewed.

Only articles making a direct comparison between the two treatments were included. The patients in all the studies had more than one shoulder dislocation.

They found the risk of having another shoulder dislocation after surgery was 2.4 times more likely when the operation was done using an arthroscope. Patients also went back to their former activities sooner after an open repair.

The authors offered some conclusions from the results of this meta-analysis. They say it shows that open repair with a skin incision was a better way to do shoulder repairs for shoulder dislocations. They suggest that more trials are needed with the newer methods of arthroscopic surgery.

References: Nicholas G. H. Mohtadi, MD, FRCSC, et al. Arthroscopic versus Open Repair for Traumatic Anterior Shoulder Instability: A Meta-analysis. In Arthroscopy. June 2005. Vol. 21. No. 6. Pp. 652-658.

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