Results and complications of head preserving techniques in chronic neglected shoulder dislocation: a systematic review.

Abstract Background Humeral head preserving procedures may be needed for chronic neglected shoulder dislocation because the presenting age of the patient is often reported to be less than 45 years. The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the results of the various head preserving procedures for chronic anterior dislocation (CAD) and chronic posterior dislocation (CPD). This review also aimed to evaluate the results of conservative neglect for chronic anterior dislocation. Methods PubMed, Embase and Cochrane library databases were queried for studies that reported on results of head preserving procedures for CAD or CPD and for studies that reported on the results of conservative neglect for CAD. Case reports, review articles, acute dislocations and fracture-dislocations were excluded. The results of the different techniques were pooled for further evaluation. Results Seventeen studies were selected for qualitative analysis. These were further subdivided into 9 studies for the CAD group and 11 studies for the CPD group. In the CAD intervention group, 53 shoulders in 7 studies were managed by 5 different head preserving techniques. The choice of procedure to stabilize the shoulder after open reduction varied between coracoid transfer, capsulolabral repair, remplissage and putti-platt procedure and acromio-humeral K-wire fixation. High resubluxation rate and early arthrosis was reported after open reduction techniques for CAD. In the CAD conservative group, 8 shoulders in 2 studies were managed by conservative methods. In the CPD group, the 2 most common techniques; (1) McLaughlin or Modified McLaughlin and (2) bone grafting, were used to treat 74 shoulders in 7 studies and showed good functional outcomes. Conclusion The choice of open reduction and stabilization technique for CAD was highly variable between the different studies that led to a wide variation in the reported outcomes with high number of complications such as resubluxation and early arthrosis. The conservative treatment of CAD led to poor functional results. The choice of treatment for CPD was mostly between two techniques (McLaughlin / modified McLaughlin reconstruction or the bone graft reconstruction) and they consistently led to good functional outcomes with less complications. Level of evidence Level IV; Systematic Review