Efficacy and pitfalls of the STATAK soft-tissue attachment device for the Bankart repair

This report describes the results of Bankart repair with the use of a soft-tissue attachment device in 15 consecutive patients with traumatic, recurrent anterior instability of the shoulder. The mean operative time was 18 minutes shorter when compared with our previous series with the traditional transosseous suture technique. The surgical outcome was satisfactory in 12 patients and unsatisfactory in three. In two of these three patients, incomplete anchoring of the device seemed to have caused subluxation after the operation. Thus this device has the potential to shorten the operative time, but great care must be taken to securely position it below the cortical surface.