Functional outcomes of an open latarjet procedure for recurrent anterior shoulder dislocation in Yemen

Shoulder dislocations occur in approximately 45% of all joint types, and anterior shoulder dislocations account for more than 90% of cases. The purpose of this study was to assess the functional outcomes of an open Latarjet operation for patients with recurrent anterior shoulder dislocations.

A prospective hospital-based study was conducted at the Orthopaedic Department of Al Thawra Modern General Hospital, Sana'a City, between 2015 and 2022. Consecutive patients who experienced recurrent anterior shoulder instability underwent the open Latarjet procedure. Preoperative and postoperative clinical, radiographic, and functional outcomes according to the Rowe score were assessed during the study period.

Twenty patients, with a mean age of 20.9 ± 2.9 years, were included in this study. The most common age group at surgery was ≤ 20 years (70%). The median number of recurrent dislocations before surgery was 25. 40% of the patients presented more than two years after the first dislocation, with a mean duration of 2.5 ±  one year. Postoperatively, haematoma, infection, neurovascular injury, graft malposition, graft nonunion and osteoarthritis were not observed in any patient. However, one patient (5%) had a stress fracture in the coracoid graft. All patients showed improvement in the preoperative mean Rowe score of 6.5 ± 4.6 to the postoperative mean Rowe score of 91 ± 7% (an excellent grade) at the last follow-up.

The open Latarjet procedure had excellent outcomes with a very low rate of complications in this study. We recommend the open Latarjet procedure for the management of recurrent anterior shoulder dislocation in patients with significant glenoid bone defects, especially in developing countries with limited resources, such as Yemen.