Recurrence Rate of Instability After Remplissage for Treatment of Traumatic Anterior Shoulder Instability: A Systematic Review in Treatment of Subcritical Glenoid Bone Loss

Purpose: To report outcomes after arthroscopic remplissage in patients with anterior shoulder instability and subcritical glenoid bone loss, specifically regarding recurrence of instability, return to sport, and changes in range of motion.

Methods: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines were used to perform a search using the PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Scopus databases. Forest plots were used to evaluate the overall values for recurrent instability, change in external rotation, and return to sport after arthroscopic Bankart repair with or without remplissage. The Methodological Index for Non-randomized Studies and Risk of Bias in Nonrandomized Studies-Interventions checklist were used to evaluate bias.

Results: Twenty-two articles met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The Methodological Index for Non-randomized Studies and Risk of Bias in Nonrandomized Studies-Interventions checklists deemed studies as acceptable quality with low bias. Among 694 patients (522 male and 106 female patients) undergoing remplissage, the mean age was 28.3 ± 5.3 years and the mean duration of follow-up was 32.5 ± 13.9 months. The recurrence rate of instability ranged from 0% to 20%. The change in external rotation in 90° of abduction ranged from -11.3° to -1.0°, and the change in external rotation with the arm fully adducted ranged from -8.0° to +4.5°. The overall rate of return to sport ranged from 56.9% to 100% after remplissage. The rate of return to sport at the preinjury level ranged from 41.7% to 100%. In addition, arthroscopic remplissage in addition to Bankart repair had a reduced odds of recurrent instability developing, ranging from 0.07 to 0.88, when compared with isolated Bankart repair.

Conclusions: Arthroscopic remplissage combined with Bankart repair is an effective procedure in the treatment of patients with engaging Hill-Sachs lesions and minimal glenoid bone loss. Patients can expect favorable rates of recurrent instability with a negligible loss of external rotation when compared with isolated Bankart repair. Treatment algorithms may be updated to include this procedure for engaging Hill-Sachs lesions, measuring between 20% and 40% in volume, with subcritical (<20%) glenoid bone loss.

Level of evidence: Level IV, systematic review of Level III and IV studies.