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Updated: Apr 21, 2026

Reverse Total Shoulder Arthroplasty
Published on: July 5, 2011
Can arthroscopic revision surgery for shoulder instability be a fair option?
Silvana De Giorgi1, Raffaele Garofalo2, Silvio Tafuri3
1Department Basic Medical Sciences, Neuro-sciences and Sensory, University of Bari, Italy.
Background:
the aim of this study was to evaluate the role of arthroscopic capsuloplasty in the treatment of failed primary arthroscopic treatment of glenohumeral instability.
Methods:
we retrospectively examined at a minimum of 3-years follow-up 22 patients who underwent arthroscopic treatment between 1999 and 2007 who had recurrent anterior shoulder instability with a post-surgical failure. A statistical analysis was performed to evaluate which variable could influence the definitive result and clinical outcomes at final follow-up. A p value of less than 0.05 was considered significant.
Results:
we observed after revision surgery an overall failure rate of 8/22 (36.4%) including frank dislocations, subluxations and also apprehension that seriously inhibit the patient's quality of life. No significant differences were observed in the examined parameters.
Conclusions:
according to our outcomes we generally do not recommend an arthroscopic revision procedure for failed instability surgery.