Fewer anchors achieves successful arthroscopic shoulder stabilization surgery: 114 patients with 4 years of follow-up.

Background: The shoulder is the most frequently dislocated joint, with an incidence of 10 to 20 per 100,000 each year. The optimum number of anchors to use in arthroscopic stabilization is a topic of growing interest; most surgeons use 3. Our stabilization technique is to commonly use only a single suture anchor to purse-string the capsulolabral tissue up and toward the glenoid. This study aimed to ascertain whether successful stabilization can be achieved with fewer than 3 anchors.

Methods: Our study comprised 114 consecutive patients with anterior instability and a Bankart lesion undergoing arthroscopic stabilization with 4 years of follow-up. Outcome was measured by Oxford Instability Score (OIS) and recurrence of instability or dislocation. Patient demographics were 86.8% male, 13.2% female, mean age of 31 years, 76.3% Hill-Sachs lesions, 13.2% bony Bankart lesions, 13.2% glenoid defects, and 9.6% SLAP lesions. The majority of patients, 71 patients (62.3%), received only 1 anchor; 40 patients (35.1%) received 2 anchors, and 3 patients (2.6%) had 3 anchors.

Results: The mean OIS was 44.3 preoperatively and 17.3 postoperatively (P < .0001). There was no difference in OIS improvement between the patients who received a single anchor and those who received 2 or 3 anchors (P > .05). Even with minor bony Bankart lesions and glenoid defects, a single suture anchor can be sufficient. Our failure rate of 6.1% is comparable with that of other published series.

Conclusion: Successful shoulder stabilization can be achieved with fewer than 3 anchors, and a single anchor is usually sufficient.