Two-year results of arthroscopic conjoint tendon transfer procedure for the management of failed anterior stabilization of the shoulder

BACKGROUND: Management of failed anterior stabilization is difficult. There are two main options for revision either a revision labral repair which has published high failure rates because of poor quality capsulolabral tissues or a bone block/Latarjet procedure with associated morbidity and complication rates. On this background, the senior author (D.T.) has developed a new procedure to treat this difficult to manage clinical scenario. AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate the 2-year results of an arthroscopic conjoint tendon transfer procedure. The procedure has previously been developed to provide a potential solution for active patients with a failed labral repair, subcritical glenoid bone loss, and an on-track Hill-Sachs lesion. METHODS: Consecutive patients who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were prospectively recruited. Inclusion criteria were active patients with recurrent shoulder instability owing to failed labral repair, less than 10% anterior glenoid bone loss, and an on-track Hill Sachs lesion. Patients were fully consented and offered a choice of revision with an arthroscopic labral repair, a Latarjet procedure or the arthroscopic conjoint tendon transfer procedure. Preoperative and postoperative Western Ontario Shoulder Instability Index and Oxford Instability Score were collected. RESULTS: Eight patients met the inclusion criteria and opted for the conjoint tendon transfer procedure. Mean age was 35 with a male:female ratio of 7:1. No patients had hyperlaxity clinically. At median follow-up of 31 months (range 24-41), there was a significant improvement in both the median Western Ontario Shoulder Instability Index (53.7 to 13.4, P = .0003) and Oxford Instability Score (27 to 44.5, P = .0017) scores. No patient had a further dislocation, and all were able to resume contact and noncontact sports. CONCLUSION: Our results at a minimum of 2-year follow-up demonstrate that the arthroscopic transfer of the conjoint tendon confers clinical stability in patients with a failed primary labral repair who have minimal bone loss.