Anchorless Acromioclavicular and Coracoclavicular Ligament Repair Using a Graft-Passing Instrument to Pass Suture Under the Coracoid.

Abstract

Acromioclavicular joint separation is a common shoulder injury. Grade I and II separation may be treated nonoperatively, whereas higher grades tend to require surgical intervention. Various repair techniques have been described in the literature, with no consensus on the gold standard. This Technical Note describes our use of a graft-passing instrument to pass suture under the coracoid during an anatomic reconstruction of both the acromioclavicular and coracoclavicular ligaments. Although this approach is technically challenging, it avoids coracoid drilling and requires smaller-diameter clavicle and acromion drilling. Furthermore, using suture instead of graft material increases the cost-effectiveness of the procedure.