Arthroscopic transglenoid Bankart suture repair with modifications of Caspari's technique

Recent advances in arthroscopic surgery have given new options for dealing with anterior glenohumeral instability with less morbidity than the open procedure. The early literature discussing arthroscopic Bankart suture repair is favorable, however limited long-term follow-up studies have yet to prove its success. This study reports our experience with arthroscopic transglenoid Bankart suture repair with a minimum 2-year follow-up. Arthroscopic transglenoid Bankart repair was performed in 23 cases of anterior shoulder instability with some modifications of Caspari's suture technique. First, the suture material was #1 PDS and the number of sutures was 4 or 5. Second, the insertion site of the guide pin was moved to 1 o'clock on the right shoulder and to 11 o'clock on the left shoulder to prevent slippage of the guide pin. With this technique, we obtained 87% satisfactory results analyzed by the Rowe functional grading system. There was no suprascapular or axillary nerve injury. Two patients had redislocations and one patient had recurrent subluxation. Five patients complained of suture-knot irritation problems.