Understanding the Hill-Sachs Lesion in Its Role in Patients with Recurrent Anterior Shoulder Instability

The purpose of this study is to provide an update to the orthopedic field in regard to treatment of the Hill-Sachs lesion and anterior shoulder instability. The review highlights the most current knowledge of epidemiology, clinical evaluation, and surgical methods used to treat Hill-Sachs lesions. It also details the relevant clinical and surgical findings that have been made throughout the literature in the past couple of years.

The most recent literature covering the Hill-Sachs lesion has focused on the relatively new and unexplored topic of the importance of concomitant injuries while treating a humeral head defect. The glenoid track concept has been clinically validated as a method to predict engagement. 3D-CT has become the "gold standard" for Hill-Sachs imaging; however, it has been noted that 3D-MRI produces results that are not significantly different from CT. Also, it has been found that when the arm is in a position of abduction during the primary injury, there is a higher risk of engagement and subsequent dislocation. Recent studies have demonstrated successful results stemming from purely arthroscopic procedures in treating Hill-Sachs lesions. Anterior shoulder instability, specifically the Hill-Sachs lesion, is an area of orthopedic study that is highly active and constantly producing new studies in an attempt of gaining the best outcomes for patients. The past few years have yielded many excellent discoveries, but there is still much more work to be done in order to fully understand the role of the Hill-Sachs lesion in anterior shoulder instability.