Do the traditional and modified latarjet techniques produce equivalent reconstruction stability and strength?

The Latarjet procedure has been described as a reconstructive option for instability associated with substantial glenoid bone defects. A modification, termed the Congruent-Arc, is thought to improve glenoid reconstruction through better articular congruency and greater bone reconstitution. The strengths of these techniques, however, have not been reported. Purpose/

To compare the fixation stability, strength, glenoid vault load transfer, and joint contact between the Classic and Congruent-Arc techniques. The authors hypothesized that the Classic Latarjet would exhibit inferior joint contact characteristics while having greater stability and strength and more normal glenoid vault strain.

Controlled laboratory study.

Sixteen shoulder specimens (8 pairs) were tested by loading the glenohumeral joint with the glenoid intact, following creation of a 25% anterior bone defect, and after random assignment to the Classic or Congruent-Arc Latarjet techniques. Specimens were mounted to a testing apparatus that allowed concentric, centralized loading and loading 30° anterior on the glenoid rim. Cyclic loading (100 cycles at 1 Hz) was applied with a staircase protocol (50, 100, 150, and 200 N). Graft interface displacement and glenoid load transfer, quantified in terms of strain, were recorded during loading. Contact was quantified during 50-N loading using a thin pressure sensor. After cyclic loading, specimens were loaded to failure, defined as 5 mm of graft interface displacement.

The 30° loading ≥100 N resulted in significantly greater graft displacement (P < .004) in the Congruent-Arc group as compared with the Classic (mean displacement range, 0.9-2.6 vs 0.1-0.5 mm, respectively). Failure testing yielded a significantly (P = .010) greater ultimate strength for the Classic (557 N) as compared with the Congruent-Arc (392 N). Load-transfer measurements demonstrated that neither technique's glenoid vault strain values significantly differed from intact (P ≥ .076). Both techniques resulted in contact areas significantly less than intact (P < .035); however, the Congruent-Arc trended toward better contact characteristics (P = .074).

The Congruent-Arc results in significantly poorer fixation stability as compared with the Classic technique but did more closely reproduce intact joint contact, which may yield more favorable long-term outcomes.

Care must be taken in balancing the consideration of initial fixation stability and joint contact for the Congruent-Arc and Classic Latarjet, as these factors have opposing implications for each of the 2 reconstructions' outcomes.