Do Techniques for Hill-Sachs Remplissage Matter in Terms of Functional and Radiological Outcomes?

Background: Different techniques are used for the remplissage procedure, including the double-pulley and mattress suture techniques. Both techniques have shown good results; however, it is unclear if one technique is superior.

Hypothesis: The remplissage procedure using the double-pulley technique with 2 anchors would have superior functional and radiological outcomes compared with the mattress suture technique with a single anchor.

Study design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3.

Methods: This study included patients with anterior shoulder instability who were treated using arthroscopic Bankart repair combined with remplissage between 2012 and 2017. A structured questionnaire was used to gather information on the following metrics: Instability Severity Index Score, hyperlaxity, Sugaya index, presence of a Hill-Sachs defect, number of dislocations before surgery, sports participation, radiological measurement of the Hill-Sachs lesion, postoperative range of motion in both shoulders, Rowe score, Walch-Duplay score, American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons score, and Filling Index Score of Remplissage grade according to magnetic resonance imaging scans at the last follow-up.

Results: There were 41 patients included with a mean age of 30 ± 7 years who underwent the Hill-Sachs remplissage procedure using the double-pulley technique with 2 anchors (n = 21; group DA) or the mattress suture technique with a single anchor (n = 20; group SA). At the final follow-up, there were no significant differences between the groups regarding the Instability Severity Index Score (P = .134), the Sugaya index (P = .538), sports participation (P = .41), the radiological measurement of the Hill-Sachs lesion (P = .803), or the Rowe score (P = .182). However, there were significant differences between the groups in the Walch-Duplay score (P = .012), American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons score (P = .005), and Filling Index Score of Remplissage grade (P = .015), favoring group DA, as well as differences in external rotation in a neutral position (external rotation loss: 9° ± 3° [group SA] vs 12° ± 3° [group DA]; P = .003) and at 90° of abduction (external rotation loss: 8° ± 3° [group SA] vs 11° ± 3° [group DA]; P = .006), favoring group SA.

Conclusion: In the remplissage procedure, the double-pulley technique provided better filling of the lesion and improvement in functional scores, but external rotation was limited compared with the mattress suture technique.