Clinical and functional outcomes of the remplissage technique to repair anterior shoulder dislocation: average 7 years of follow-up

Purpose: The purpose of this work is to report mid- to long-term clinical results, recurrence rates and instability following surgery to repair anterior dislocation of the shoulder by the remplissage technique. Methods: This was a retrospective case series at a single center with patients with anterior shoulder instability that received surgery using the remplissage technique. Rowe questionnaire, instability complaints, recurrence episodes and return to sport were analyzed. Results: Of all patients screened, 21 (92.3%) were enrolled and only 2 patients were lost to follow-up. The mean age of the patients at the time of surgery was 27.8y.o., and the mean number of dislocations before surgery was 3.2 episodes. The follow-up average was 83.8 months (range 28–126). No case of postoperative infection was observed. Two patients (9.5%) had recurrent shoulder instability and required reintervention after 18 and 48 months. The average final Rowe score was 92.9 (range 75–100). All patients that played sports before surgery returned to the sport, and 73.7% of them returned to the same activity level. Conclusion: The remplissage technique applied to repair anterior shoulder dislocation with humeral bone loss presents good results regarding clinical scores, shoulder stability and acceptable rates of return to sports, even in a mid- to long-term follow-up. Level of evidence: IV. © 2020, Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli.