What’s New in Shoulder and Elbow Surgery 2020

Every month, JBJS publishes a review of the most pertinent and impactful studies published in the orthopaedic literature during the previous year in 13 subspecialties. Click here for a collection of all such OrthoBuzz specialty-update summaries.

This month, Matthew R. Schmitz, MD, JBJS Deputy Editor for Social Media, selected the most clinically compelling findings from the >40 studies summarized in the October 21, 2020 “What’s New in Shoulder and Elbow Surgery.

Rotator Cuff Repair
–A prospective randomized study compared operative and nonoperative treatment of small and medium-sized chronic full-thickness rotator cuff tears. At 10 years, the outcomes of primary repair were superior to those of nonoperative treatment, but both groups improved significantly over time.

Anterior Shoulder Instability
–A randomized trial compared arthroscopic Bankart repair to arthroscopic washout in the treatment of a first-time anterior dislocation. Bankart repair was associated with lower recurrence rates, fewer revisions, and better maintenance of functional outcomes.

–A prospective study evaluated the amount of glenoid bone loss associated with a single instability event in young athletes (average age of 20 years).¹ A first-time dislocation was associated with a 6.8% bone loss. In the setting of recurrent instability, total bone loss averaged 10.2% at the time of enrollment and 22.8% after a subsequent instability event.

Proximal Humeral Fractures in the Elderly
–A randomized controlled trial compared locking-plate fixation with reverse total shoulder arthroplasty in treating intra-articular displaced proximal humeral fractures in patients 65 to 85 years of age. At 2 years, Constant-Murley scores were significantly better in the reverse total shoulder arthroplasty group.

“Little League” Elbow
–A prospective MRI-based study of Little League baseball players aged 12 to 15 years² found that 58% of the players had abnormal upper-extremity MRI findings, and that in 80% of those players, the MRI findings worsened with continued baseball play. The authors suggest that surgeons discourage year-round play in young baseball players.

References

1. Dickens JF, Slaven SE, Cameron KL, Pickett AM, Posner M, Campbell SE, Owens BD. Prospective evaluation of glenoid bone loss after first-time and recurrent anterior glenohumeral instability events. Am J Sports Med.2019 Apr;47(5):1082-9.
2. Holt JB, Pedowitz JM, Stearns PH, Bastrom TP, Dennis MM, Dwek JR, Pennock AT. Progressive elbow magnetic resonance imaging abnormalities in Little League baseball players are common: a 3-year longitudinal evaluation. Am J Sports Med.2020 Feb;48(2):466-72. Epub 2019 Dec 4.