Latarjet Stabilisation Surgery

This is an operation used to stabilise a patient's shoulder and prevent it dislocating again. It is particularly used in patients who sustained a bone defect to the socket during a previous dislocation or in patients who take part in contact sports. 
The operation  is performed under general anaesthetic (GA) and the anaesthetist will often perform an injection to the nerves at the base of the neck to numb the nerves which ensures excellent pain control immediately after operation (inter-scalene block). An incision is made over the front of the shoulder and piece of bone is taken one part of the front of the shoulder (coracoid) and is then fixed with 2 metal screws on to the front of the shoulder joint socket (glenoid). This bone block transfer deepens the socket and makes it much harder for the ball (humeral head) to dislocate out of the front of the socket. A tendon is left attached to the bone block and this further helps to reduce the chance of future dislocation by acting like a sling in the shoulder joint. At the end of the operation the wound is closed with dissolvable stitches under the skin and the patient wakes up with their arm in a sling. Most patients stay in hospital overnight but can go home on the same day if it is safe to do so. 
The chances of future dislocation of the shoulder are low (approximately 5%).
The risks of surgery include the general risks such as infection, haematoma (blood clot in the joint), nerve damage, stiffness, leg clot DVT, lung clot PE, need for further surgery, malunion or non-union of the bone block, metalwork problems from the screws and future arthritis in the shoulder joint. 
The Latarjet stabilisation operation is a very popular and successful operation in contact sporting athletes.
REHAB PROTOCOL - LATARJET SURGERY
SHOULDER INSTABILITY
CLINICS
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