Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 1, 2026
Reverse Total Shoulder Arthroplasty
Published on: July 5, 2011
Primary versus revision arthroscopic reconstruction with remplissage for shoulder instability with moderate bone loss
Michael P McCabe1, Douglas Weinberg2, Larry D Field3
1Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland, U.S.A.
Purpose:
This study aims to evaluate our outcomes of arthroscopic remplissage in this setting.
Methods:
A retrospective review was performed to identify patients who underwent arthroscopic remplissage of an engaging Hill-Sachs lesion along with anterior capsulolabral reconstruction for anterior glenohumeral instability with moderate glenohumeral bone loss at our institution. Thirty-five patients, with a minimum of 2 years' follow-up, were identified. We assessed the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons score, incidence of recurrent instability, and postoperative Rowe instability score.
Results:
Follow-up was available for 30 patients (31 shoulders). The mean age was 24.6 years, with a mean follow-up period of 41 months. Prior instability surgery had failed in 11 patients, and they underwent capsulolabral reconstruction and remplissage ("revision surgery"). The failure rate in revision cases (36%) was significantly higher than the failure rate in primary surgery cases (0%) (P = .01). Failure resulted from trauma in all 4 patients, and none required further surgery. The mean American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons score for all patients improved from 50 preoperatively to 91 postoperatively (P < .001), with no significant postoperative difference between primary and revision patients (P = .13). The patients with clinical failure showed nonsignificant improvement from 41 preoperatively to 72 postoperatively (P = .08). The mean postoperative Rowe score for the entire cohort was 90. The Rowe score was significantly lower in the 4 cases of failure than in the 27 non-failure cases (51 v 96, P < .001).
Conclusions:
In our experience, aggressive capsulolabral reconstruction with remplissage in traumatic instability patients with moderate bone loss and engaging humeral Hill-Sachs lesions yields acceptable outcomes for primary instability surgery. However, a significantly higher failure rate occurred when arthroscopic reconstruction with remplissage was performed in the revision setting.
Level Of Evidence:
Level IV, therapeutic case series.