Background: The higher failure rates reported with arthroscopic stabilization of traumatic, recurrent anterior shoulder instability compared with open stabilization remain a concern. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of arthroscopic Bankart repairs with the use of suture anchors and to identify risk factors related to postoperative recurrence of shoulder instability.

Methods: Ninety-one consecutive patients underwent arthroscopic stabilization for recurrent anterior traumatic shoulder instability. The mean age (and standard deviation) at the time of surgery was 26.4 ± 5.4 years. Seventy-one patients were male. Seventy-nine patients were involved in sports (forty, in high-risk sports). Capsulolabral reattachment and capsule retensioning was performed with use of absorbable suture anchors (mean, 4.3 anchors; range, two to seven anchors). All patients were prospectively followed, and, at the time of the last review, the patients were examined and assessed functionally by independent observers.

Results: At a mean follow-up of thirty-six months, fourteen patients (15.3%) experienced recurrent instability: six sustained a frank dislocation and eight reported a subluxation. The mean delay to recurrence was 17.6 months. The risk of postoperative recurrence was significantly related to the presence of a bone defect, either on the glenoid side (a glenoid compression-fracture; p = 0.01) or on the humeral side (a large Hill-Sachs lesion; p = 0.05). By contrast, a glenoid separation-fracture was not associated with postoperative recurrent dislocation or subluxation. Recurrence of instability was significantly higher in patients with inferior shoulder hyperlaxity (p = 0.03) and/or anterior shoulder hyperlaxity (p = 0.01). On multivariate analysis, the presence of glenoid bone loss and inferior hyperlaxity led to a 75% recurrence rate (p < 0.001). Lastly, the number of suture-anchors was critical: patients who had three anchors or fewer were at higher risk for recurrent instability (p = 0.03).

Conclusions: In the treatment of traumatic recurrent anterior shoulder instability, patients with bone loss or with shoulder hyperlaxity are at risk for recurrent instability after arthroscopic Bankart repair. At least four anchor points should be used to obtain secure shoulder stabilization.

Level of Evidence: Therapeutic Level IV. See Instructions to Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Risk factors for recurrence of shoulder instability after arthroscopic Bankart repair.

There is no simple method available to identify patients who will develop recurrent instability after an arthroscopic Bankart procedure and who would be better served by an open operation. We carried out a prospective case-control study of 131 consecutive unselected patients with recurrent anterior shoulder instability who underwent this procedure using suture anchors. At follow-up after a mean of 31.2 months (24 to 52) 19 (14.5%) had recurrent instability. The following risk factors were identified: patient age under 20 years at the time of surgery; involvement in competitive or contact sports or those involving forced overhead activity; shoulder hyperlaxity; a Hill-Sachs lesion present on an anteroposterior radiograph of the shoulder in external rotation and/or loss of the sclerotic inferior glenoid contour. These factors were integrated in a 10-point pre-operative instability severity index score and tested retrospectively on the same population. Patients with a score over 6 points had an unacceptable recurrence risk of 70% (p < 0.001). On this basis we believe that an arthroscopic Bankart repair is contraindicated in these patients, to whom we now suggest a Bristow-Latarjet procedure instead.

The instability severity index score: A SIMPLE PRE-OPERATIVE SCORE TO SELECT PATIENTS FOR ARTHROSCOPIC OR OPEN SHOULDER STABILISATION

J Bone Joint Surg [Br] 2007;89-B:1470-7. Received 27 November 2006; Accepted after revision 22 May 2007 There is no simple method available to identify patients who will develop recurrent instability after an arthroscopic Bankart procedure and who would be better served by an open operation. We carried out a prospective case-control study of 131 consecutive unselected patients with recurrent anterior shoulder instability who underwent this procedure using suture anchors. At follow-up after a mean of 31.2 months (24 to 52) 19 (14.5%) had recurrent instability. The following risk factors were identified: patient age under 20 years at the time of surgery; involvement in competitive or contact sports or those involving forced overhead activity; shoulder hyperlaxity; a Hill-Sachs lesion present on an anteroposterior radiograph of the shoulder in external rotation and/or loss of the sclerotic inferior glenoid contour. These factors were integrated in a 10-point pre-operative instability severity index score and tested retrospectively on the same population. Patients with a score over 6 points had an unacceptable recurrence risk of 70% (p < 0.001). On this basis we believe that an arthroscopic Bankart repair is contraindicated in these patients, to whom we now suggest a Bristow-Latarjet procedure instead.

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A simple pre-operative score to select patients for arthroscopic or open shoulder stabilisation

Hallux valgus (HV) is a foot deformity commonly seen in medical practice, often accompanied by significant functional disability and foot pain. Despite frequent mention in a diverse body of literature, a precise estimate of the prevalence of HV is difficult to ascertain. The purpose of this systematic review was to investigate prevalence of HV in the overall population and evaluate the influence of age and gender. Electronic databases (Medline, Embase, and CINAHL) and reference lists of included papers were searched to June 2009 for papers on HV prevalence without language restriction. MeSH terms and keywords were used relating to HV or bunions, prevalence and various synonyms. Included studies were surveys reporting original data for prevalence of HV or bunions in healthy populations of any age group. Surveys reporting prevalence data grouped with other foot deformities and in specific disease groups (e.g. rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes) were excluded. Two independent investigators quality rated all included papers on the Epidemiological Appraisal Instrument. Data on raw prevalence, population studied and methodology were extracted. Prevalence proportions and the standard error were calculated, and meta-analysis was performed using a random effects model. A total of 78 papers reporting results of 76 surveys (total 496,957 participants) were included and grouped by study population for meta-analysis. Pooled prevalence estimates for HV were 23% in adults aged 18-65 years (CI: 16.3 to 29.6) and 35.7% in elderly people aged over 65 years (CI: 29.5 to 42.0). Prevalence increased with age and was higher in females [30% (CI: 22 to 38)] compared to males [13% (CI: 9 to 17)]. Potential sources of bias were sampling method, study quality and method of HV diagnosis. Notwithstanding the wide variation in estimates, it is evident that HV is prevalent; more so in females and with increasing age. Methodological quality issues need to be addressed in interpreting reports in the literature and in future research.

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Prevalence of hallux valgus in the general population: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Introduction
With the advances and improvement of computer-assisted surgery devices, computer-guided pedicle screws insertion has been applied to the lumbar, thoracic and cervical spine. The purpose of the present study was to perform a systematic review of all available prospective evidence regarding pedicle screw insertion techniques in the thoracic and lumbar human spine.

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Accuracy of pedicle screw placement: a systematic review of prospective in vivo studies comparing free hand, fluoroscopy guidance and navigation techniques

Study design: The location of pedicle screws (n = 42) in four human specimens of the lumbar spine and in 30 patients (n = 131 screws) after lumbar spinal fusion was assessed using computed tomography. 

Objectives: To determine the accuracy of pedicle screw placement in lumbar vertebrae and the reproducibility and repeatability of the computed tomography examination. 

Summary of background data: Failures in the placement of transpedicular screws for lumbar fusion are reported. The evaluation of such screws using computed tomography examination has not been investigated. 

Methods: After surgery, the specimens were dissected in transversal slices to observe macroscopically the location of the pedicle screw and to correlate these observations with the computed tomography images. All patients were examined by one observer. To determine the reproducibility and repeatability of the computed tomography examination, two observers studied computed tomography images of 12 patients (n = 58 screws) twice within 3 months. 

Results: In the specimens, 10 screws were observed to penetrate the medial wall of the pedicle. This correlated fully with the images. In the patients' group, 40% of all screws penetrated the cortex of the vertebra. Of all screws, 29% penetrated the medial wall of the pedicle. From the computed tomography images, it appeared that a deviation of more than 6 mm medially was a high risk for nerve root damage. Three months after his first examination, Observer 1 documented a different position in three of 58 screws (kappa = 0.90). Observer 2 found a different position in eight screws (kappa = 0.65). The comparison between the reviews of the two observers showed a different opinion for the first evaluation, four disagreements (2-4 mm) and 17 disagreements (0-2 mm; kappa = 0.34), and for the second evaluation, four disagreements (2-4 mm) and 12 disagreements (0-2 mm; kappa = 0.43). 

Conclusions: Correct placement of transpedicular screws for spinal fusion seems to be more difficult than it looks. The computed tomography scanning is useful for differential diagnosis of postoperative radicular syndromes after lumbar transpedicular fixation.

Accuracy of pedicle screw placement in lumbar vertebrae.

In the present paper the current clinical knowledge about proprioception is given for the shoulder, knee, ankle, elbow and the radiocarpal joint. Proprioceptive capabilities are decreased after joint injuries such as ACL or meniscus tears, shoulder dislocation, ankle sprain and in joints with degenerative joint disease. Some surgical procedures seem to restore the proprioceptive abilities; others do not. Elastic knee bandages or ankle braces increase different poprioceptive factors like ankle reproduction capability or sports-specific abilities. The present information on proprioception will influence our clinical practice in the future. We should choose surgical procedures that not only reconstruct the anatomy, but also the neurophysiologic feed-back mechanism.

Proprioception and joint stability.

The ankle joints of 14 healthy volunteers and 16 patients with unstable ankle joints were tested regarding their functional and proprioceptive capabilities. All of them were active athletes. Three tests were used of the study: single-leg stance test, single-leg jumping course test, angle-reproduction test. The influence of three stabilization devices (lace-on-brace/"Mikros", stirrup-brace/"Aircast", taping) on the proprioceptivity of stable and unstable ankle joints was evaluated. The scores of the single-leg jumping course without any stabilizing device (category "standard") ranged between 8.06 and 13.68 (10.65 +/- 1.29). In the categories "Mikros" (9.85 +/- 0.99), and "Aircast" (9.99 +/- 1.14) as well as with the tape bandage (10.27 +/- 0.81) better scores were achieved. The differences "standard vs. Mikros" and "standard vs. Aircast" revealed a significant reduction of the scores with orthoses (P < 0.01). The error rate in the single-leg stance test was within the range of 0-16 (5.12 +/- 2.85) for the category "standard". It was lower for the categories "Mikros" (3.65 +/- 2.65) and "Aircast" (4.17 +/- 2.59). The error rate was highest in the group with a tape bandage (5.79 +/- 3.53). The differences "standard vs Mikros" as well as "standard vs. Aircast" were significant (P < 0.01). There was also a significant difference between these categories regarding injured and not injured ankle joints (P < 0.01). The angle-reproduction-test showed higher values for the category "standard" (2.36 degrees +/- 0.97) in comparison to the categories "Mikros" (1.46 degrees +/- 0.72), "Aircast" (1.62 degrees +/- 0.91) and "taping" (1.84 degrees +/- 0.41).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The influence of orthoses on the proprioception of the ankle joint.

Sixty-two consecutive patients with recurrent traumatic anterior instability of the shoulder were prospectively observed. Thirty patients were observed after arthroscopic stabilization, and 32 were observed after open Bankart repair during a mean follow-up of 36 and 40 months, respectively (range, 24 to 60 months for both groups). To reattach the labrum, the arthroscopic technique used transglenoid sutures and the open technique used bone anchors. Redislocation occurred in two patients (6%) in the open repair group and in five patients (17%) in the arthroscopic repair group. Three of the five patients with redislocations in the arthroscopic repair group underwent reoperation. According to the criteria of Rowe et al., 29 patients (90.6%) who had open repair and 24 patients (80%) who had arthroscopic repair had good-to-excellent results. The patients averaged 90.6 points in the open repair group and 83.1 points in the arthroscopic repair group postoperatively. Little or no limitations in their postoperative...

Jörg Jerosch

Papers

Accuracy of pedicle screw placement in lumbar vertebrae.

Proprioception and joint stability.

The influence of orthoses on the proprioception of the ankle joint.

Arthroscopic Transglenoid Stabilization Versus Open Anchor Suturing in Traumatic Anterior Instability of the Shoulder

The anatomy of the glenohumeral ligamentous complex and its contribution to anterior shoulder stability.