Asymmetric Bilateral Chronic Shoulder Dislocation in a Young Patient - A Rare Case Report

Chronic shoulder dislocations are infrequent and can be easily overlooked unless a carefully clinical history, physical examination, and radiographic evaluation are undertaken. Bilateral simultaneous instability is almost pathognomonic for a convulsive disorder. To the best of our knowledge, we describe the first case of asymmetric bilateral chronic dislocation.

A 34-year-old male patient with a history of epilepsy and schizophrenia and multiple seizure episodes, suffered a bilateral asymmetric shoulder dislocation. Radiological examination revealed a posterior shoulder dislocation of the right shoulder with a severe reverse Hill-Sachs lesion comprising more than 50% of the humeral head surface, while on the left shoulder, a chronic anterior shoulder dislocation with a Hill-Sachs lesion of moderate dimension. On the right shoulder, a hemiarthroplasty was performed, and on the left, a stabilization with Remplissage Technique, subscapularis plication, and temporary trans-articular Steinmann pin fixation was done. After bilateral rehabilitation, the patient showed residual pain in the left shoulder and slight range of motion limitation. There were no new episodes of shoulder instability.

Our aim is to emphasize the importance of being alert to flag patients and make a prompt and accurate diagnosis of acute shoulder instability episodes, to avoid unnecessary morbidity, as well as of a high index of suspicion when a history of seizures is present. Despite the uncertain prognosis of a bilateral chronic shoulder dislocation functional results, the surgeon must take into consideration the patient's age, functional demand, and expectations to define the best treatment strategy.