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Updated: Apr 19, 2026
Reverse Total Shoulder Arthroplasty
Published on: July 5, 2011
Arthroscopic treatment of posterior shoulder instability: a systematic review
Dimitra Leivadiotou1, Philip Ahrens2
1Shoulder Unit, Hospital of St. John & St. Elizabeth, London, England.
Purpose:
We performed a systematic review of the literature to determine the early and midterm outcomes of arthroscopic stabilization for posterior shoulder instability.
Methods:
We searched PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews for related articles published in the English language. The 2 authors selected studies for inclusion or exclusion. The inclusion criteria included a minimum of 1 year of follow-up, with at least 20 patients in the study population.
Results:
We included 6 studies, with a total of 387 patients (396 shoulders). All studies were retrospective, Level IV studies, except for 1 prospective study (Level II). In 81.06% of cases, patients reported a significant traumatic episode. The mean follow-up period was 44.4 months, and the mean recurrence rate was 5.37%. Most of the patients were able to return to sport (mean, 92.5%).
Conclusions:
The early and midterm results of arthroscopic stabilization of the shoulder for posterior instability are promising. Most of the patients were satisfied with the results of surgery and were able to return to sport. Larger studies and more prospective randomized trials are needed to confirm these findings.
Level Of Evidence:
Level IV, systematic review of 1 Level II study and 5 Level IV studies.
