Case Study: Repeated Shoulder Dislocations and the Latarjet Procedure

Recently, we had an interesting case with a young man in his early 20’s. The patient had dislocated his shoulder “100 times” following a previous surgery (anterior labral repair) performed by another physician. Shoulder dislocation is not only painful, but debilitating. The patient stated that any movement would cause the shoulder to dislocate – even in his sleep. 

A CT Scan was performed to look at the structure of the shoulder bones and revealed that the glenoid bone (the socket of the shoulder) was missing (see pictures). The repeated dislocations likely caused the loss of the front of the glenoid bone. If not repaired, the shoulder would continue to dislocate. 

Normal Glenoid

CT Scan of Missing Bone on Glenoid

In this case, we opted to perform an open surgery known as the Latarjet Procedure. The Latarjet procedure was first performed in France by a French surgeon, Michel Latarjet. The procedure has excellent success rates in patients with recurrent dislocations and recurrence of injury is low. 

In the Latarjet procedure, a portion of bone is taken from scapula (shoulder blade) called the corocoid. The corocoid is a hook of bone located in the front of the shoulder blade. In the Latarjet procedure the corocoid is removed from the scapula, with the muscles still attached. The corocoid is then screwed into the shoulder socket where it replaces the lost bone (see picture below). The attached muscles are then secured to offer support in the front of the shoulder. 

In this case, the surgery was a great success. The patient was in a sling for 4 weeks following surgery to protect the repair. He then performed physical therapy 3x/week for 16 weeks and is no longer dislocating his shoulder. The patient is very happy with the results. 

Latarjet Repair - Bone restored to prevent dislocation

John Vitolo, MD is a board certified orthopedic surgeon specializing in injuries and conditions of the shoulder and knee. With over 25 years of experience, Dr. Vitolo is an expert in the field. To make an appointment, please call 973-300-1553 or visit advocareorthosportsmed.com to learn more.