The management of recurrent shoulder instability in patients with epilepsy: a 15-year experience

The purpose of this study was to review our experience with recurrent shoulder instability in epileptic patients and to discuss factors influencing its management.

A retrospective review was conducted at a single facility. All patients with epilepsy and recurrent shoulder instability were included for study.

A consecutive series of 33 patients with 49 unstable shoulders presented during a 15-year period. Mean age at the time of the index dislocation was 20 years (range, 9-31). There were 24 patients with 36 anteriorly unstable shoulders, 6 patients with 8 posteriorly unstable shoulders, and 3 patients with 5 multidirectionally unstable shoulders. A large Hill-Sachs lesion was present in 21 shoulders. Glenoid bone loss was seen in 11 cases and involved >25% of the anterior-inferior margin in 6 cases and >50% in 2 cases. Thirty-six shoulders in 31 patients underwent surgery. Ongoing postoperative instability was found in 61% (22 of 36 shoulders) of the anterior group, 38% (3 of 8 shoulders) of the posterior group, and 40% (2 of 5 shoulders) of the multidirectional group. Skeletal reconstruction was found to be associated with a significantly lower rate of recurrence compared with an isolated soft tissue repair (P = .004). Glenohumeral arthrosis was found in 17 patients (22 shoulders) a mean of 12 years (range, 5-20) after the index dislocation.

The presence of bone loss and degenerative changes are the principal factors affecting the specific surgical strategy employed to treat shoulder instability in patients with epilepsy.