Inferior capsular shift for inferior and multidirectional instability of the shoulder in young children: Report of two cases.

Abstract

The literature contains few reports of shoulder multidirectional instability in young children and no reports of surgical treatment of this condition in young children. This article presents the case reports of a 4-year-old girl and an 8-year-old girl who were treated with Neer's inferior capsular shift procedure. The surgical results of these patients remained good 4 and 5 years after the procedure, respectively. Surgical correction of multidirectional instability of the shoulder in a child should be performed only if the following indications are present: (1) the patients must have severe multidirectional instability, (2) the instability must have a significant negative impact on their daily activities, (3) the children must be able to understand the significance of the instability, and (4) school attendance and school participation must be compromised by the instability.