Repair of Bankart lesions with a suture anchor in recurrent dislocation of the shoulder

This study describes the 3-year results of Bankart reconstruction in 50 consecutive patients with posttraumatic, recurrent, anterior instability of the shoulder. A modified procedure, using suture anchors was used in all patients, to simplify the soft-tissue attachment to the glenoid rim. Forty-seven of 50 (94%) patients regained normal stability. Two recurrent dislocations and one subluxation occurred. The functional results according to the Rowe scoring system were satisfactory in 43 of 50 (86%) of the patients, and unsatisfactory in 7 of 50 (14%). Of the patients with unsatisfactory results, 3 had recurrent instability and 4 had not regained normal range of shoulder motion. The suture anchors were found to simplify the procedure, and no specific complications as a result of the modified technique were seen.