Abstract
Locked posterior shoulder dislocations are an uncommon and are often missed at the time of initial evaluation. We reported on a case treated with arthroscopic procedure.
[Case] A 56-year-old man fainted and received blows to his left shoulder twice in a short period. This patient was seen in two hospitals with complaints of severe shoulder pain and a decreased range-of-motion. But a posterior dislocation of his left shoulder went unrecognized. As he continued having pain with a loss of use of the arm, he visited another clinic. He was diagnosed with posterior dislocation at the clinic and referred to our hospital for surgical treatment. Surgery was performed 12 weeks after the 1st injury. Under general anesthesia, an attempt at closed reduction was successful but the shoulder was still unstable and easily dislocated posteriorly. A subsequent standard arthroscopic examination revealed that large reverse Hill-Sachs lesion engaging the posterior edge of the glenoid and the disruption of the labrum-ligament complex. Arthroscopic repair of posterior labrum-ligament complex using 2 suture anchors made this shoulder stable in full range of motion. 14 months after the operation, he reported no pain and no limitations with regard to his left shoulder. His JOA score had improved from 17 points to 97 points and no evidence was found of posterior instability. Arthroscopic procedure for treating locked posterior shoulder dislocation is an effective method together with traditional open techniques.
