This study systematically reviewed the evidence in the literature to ascertain the functional outcomes, recurrences rates, and subsequent revision rates after the open Latarjet procedure at a minimum of 10 years of follow-up.
Two independent reviewers performed the literature search based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, using the Embase, MEDLINE, and The Cochrane Library Databases. Studies that reported a minimum of 10 years of clinical follow-up after the Latarjet procedure were included.
Our review found 13 studies including 822 patients (845 shoulders) meeting our inclusion criteria. Patients (82% men) were an average age of 27.4 years, and mean follow-up was 199.2 months (16.6 years). The commonly used functional outcome score was the Rowe score with a weighted mean average of 88.5. The overall rate of return to play sports was 84.9%, with 76.3% returning to the same level of play. The rate of good/excellent outcomes was 86.1%. The recurrent instability rate was 8.5%, with 3.2% of patients having recurrent dislocations. The revision rate was 3.7%, with 1.6% of patients undergoing revisions due to recurrence. There were arthritic changes in 38.2% of patients and residual shoulder pain in 35.7%, with 4.8% experiencing daily pain.
The Latarjet procedure for anterior shoulder instability results in excellent functional outcomes at long-term and a high rate of return to sport among athletes. However, varying rates of recurrence, residual pain, and progression of instability arthropathy are still of concern.