Shoulder Instability….
Interesting case where a ligament has torn off the front of the shoulder. This is called a Bankart or a Perthes lesion. This is the "essential" lesion that allows a shoulder to continue to dislocate… until it is repaired. Until a few years ago, many of these procedures were accomplished open, through a painful incision on the front of the shoulder. There are still goog indications for an open procedure… but that's another discussion altogether. Nowadays it is *standard* for many shoulder surgeons to accomplish the same thing arthroscopically in a straight forward case.
The second picture shows a suture anchor in place. It is a small plastic or metal piece placed into the bone. There is a small eyelet on the top of the anchor and that holds a suture. The suture is then shuttled through the tissue to be repaired and the sutures are then tied. In this case, tying the sutures returns the ligament to its normal anatomic position—third picture. Assuming all goes well, patient has a 90+ percent chance of success.
