Analysis of Athletes Who Did Not Return to Play After Open Latarjet

The Latarjet procedure is indicated in patients with risk factors for postoperative recurrence, including collision and competitive athletes. However, the factors that prevent athletes from being able return to play (RTP) after the open Latarjet procedure are still unclear and have not been fully elucidated in the literature.

To evaluate patient-reported outcomes and psychological and psychosocial factors associated with athletes who did not RTP after the open Latarjet procedure compared with patients who did RTP.

Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3.

We conducted a retrospective review of athletes who underwent the open Latarjet procedure and subsequently did not RTP after a minimum of 12 months. These patients were pair matched in a 2:1 ratio for age, sex, sport, and level of preoperative play with a control group who returned to play. Patients were evaluated for their psychological readiness to return to sport using the Shoulder Instability-Return to Sport after Injury (SIRSI); other measures included the visual analog scale (VAS) for pain and Subjective Shoulder Value (SSV). Multivariate regression models were used to evaluate factors affecting RTP.

Included were 35 patients in the no-RTP group and 70 patients in the RTP group. In the no-RTP group, 7 patients (20%) passed the SIRSI benchmark of 56, with a mean overall score of 41.5 ± 21.9; in the RTP group, 57 patients (81.4%) passed the SIRSI benchmark, with a mean overall score of 74.5 ± 19.8 (P < .0001 for both). Patients in the RTP group had better SSV (88.0 vs 75.7; P <.0001) and VAS pain (1.7 vs 2.9; P = .0046) scores. Of the athletes who did not return, 18 felt persistent pain/apprehension and 17 felt that it was a natural end to their career or that their lifestyle had changed. Multiple logistic regression revealed that thoughts of having to go through surgery and rehabilitation again was significantly associated with lower RTP (P < .05).

Patients who did not RTP after open Latarjet exhibited poor psychological readiness to RTP and worse pain VAS and SSV scores compared with patients who did RTP.