Published online Jun 20, 2024. doi: 10.5662/wjm.v14.i2.90280
Peer-review started: November 29, 2023
First decision: December 23, 2023
Revised: January 25, 2024
Accepted: March 14, 2024
Article in press: March 14, 2024
Published online: June 20, 2024
Processing time: 198 Days and 8.7 Hours
Arthroscopic shoulder surgery is considered the gold standard for anterior and posterior shoulder stability. Among several options of repairing the avulsed labrum, metallic and bio-absorbable anchors are chief competitors. While the latter are considered relatively newer concepts, metallic anchors have stood the test of time. Notwithstanding this, there is a tendency to undermine the role of metallic anchors in the current scenario. This, in part, can be due to the lack of long-term outcomes following stabilisation surgery.
There is no clear evidence of the inferiority of long-term outcomes of metallic anchors vis-a-vis bioabsorbable anchors in shoulder surgery. This gap in literature was the driving force behind the present paper attempting to highlight long-term outcomes of shoulder stabilisation surgeries performed arthroscopically with metallic anchors.
We reported minimum 10-year outcomes off arthroscopic Bankart repair with metal anchors among 30 patients.
A thorough evaluation of minimum 10-year results comprising clinical findings, patient-reported scores and radiological reviews was performed in this single-surgeon study.
Excellent overall outcomes were reported in most patients with only a 3% re-dislocation rate. All of these surgeries were performed using metallic anchors for shoulder stabilisation.
The findings of this paper provide additional evidence of the role of metallic anchors and their ability to provide reliable outcomes in the long run.
Further research with even longer follow-up periods, and perhaps a comparative analysis with bio-absorbable counterparts, may be useful for determining the cost-effectiveness of implants in an increasingly cost-conscious global health economy.