We have tried several operative methods for recurrent dislocation of the shoulder to return athletes to their sport. Since 1985 we have used combined Bankart-Bristow procedure on 27 patients.
We compared the results of this procedure with those of other operations which had bee n used formerly. Instability after surgery occured in 9 percent of the patients in combined Bankart-Bristow group,20 percent in the Bankart group,31 percent in the modified Bristow group, and 73 percent in the Boytchev group. Eighty percent of the athletes in combined Bankart-Bristow group could regain their preoperative athletic abilities, but only between 14 and 50 percent of the sportsmen could do so in the other groups.
We concl u de that combined Bankart-Bristow operation is the best procedure to attain good stability and to help athletes return to their sports.
