Arthroscopic repair of glenoid fractures using suture anchors.

Abstract

Anterior glenoid fractures associated with glenohumeral instability are normally treated with open fixation of the fragment. However, recent technical development enables this procedure to be performed under arthroscopic control using screws or even suture anchors if the fragment is small enough. We developed a unique method of stabilizing a larger fragment with suture anchors and the use of a clear imaging method of three-dimensional computed tomography (3D-CT) with the humeral head eliminated, preoperatively and postoperatively. In the present article, we report a detailed method of arthroscopic stabilization for a consecutive series of 8 patients, with an average of 27% bone loss (fragment size) against the lower part of the circular glenoid portion, using suture anchors.