Prevalence of Lesions Associated with Traumatic Recurrent Shoulder Dislocation

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the prevalence of lesions associated with traumatic anterior shoulder instability and the relationships between the prevalence of these lesions and the number of episodes and time since symptoms started. METHOD Fifty-seven patients aged 18 to 40 years, with traumatic anterior shoulder instability, more than one episode of shoulder dislocation and at least six months since the first dislocation, who required surgery to treat the instability, were selected. Arthroscopic inspection was performed on all the patients to assess any associated lesions. RESULTS The prevalence of lesions was assessed, and Bankart lesions were the most prevalent, followed by Hill-Sachs lesions, while rotator cuff injuries were the least prevalent. There was no correlation from comparison between the number of episodes of dislocation and the prevalence of associated lesions. On the other hand, in relation to the time since symptoms started, the patients who had had symptoms for longer times had fewer Hill-Sachs lesions. CONCLUSION It was not possible to affirm that, in patients with chronic shoulder instability, the numbers of associated lesions increased with the time since symptoms started, or with the number of episodes of dislocation.