A 2-Year Follow-up May Not be Enough to Accurately Evaluate Recurrences After Arthroscopic Bankart Repair: A Long-term Assessment of 272 Patients With a Mean Follow-up of 10.5 Years

Background: There is a great discrepancy between the rates of recurrent instability reported after arthroscopic Bankart repair in relation to the follow-up time. Purpose: To analyze the rate of recurrences after arthroscopic Bankart repair in the long term, emphasizing whether a minimum follow-up of 2 years is adequate to assess this outcome. Study Design: Case series; Level of evidence, 4. Methods: Between January 2008 and April 2013, a total of 356 athletes underwent arthroscopic Bankart repair for anterior glenohumeral instability at our institution. Return to sports, the Rowe score, the Subjective Shoulder Value (SSV), and the Athletic Shoulder Outcome Scoring System (ASOSS) were used to assess functional outcomes. We analyzed the proportion of recurrences before and after 4 years of follow-up. Additionally, we performed a Kaplan-Meier analysis to evaluate recurrence-free time in patients with a recurrence. Results: The mean follow-up was 10.5 +/- 1.6 years, and the mean age was 20.8 +/- 3.9 years. In total, 90% of patients were able to return to sports; of these, 91% returned to their preinjury level of play. The Rowe, SSV, and ASOSS scores showed a statistical improvement after surgery (P < .01). The proportion of patients with a recurrence during the follow-up period was 25% (95% CI, 20%-31%; n = 70), and the mean time until a recurrence was 3.8 +/- 2.6 years. Only 39% of the recurrences (95% CI, 30%-48%) occurred in the first 2 years after surgery, while 61% (95% CI, 50%-73%) occurred in the first 4 years after surgery. Conclusion: In our study, the effectiveness of Bankart repair to stabilize the shoulder decreased significantly over time. Indeed, less than half of the recurrences occurred after 2 years of follow-up. Therefore, we propose that the recommended minimum follow-up should be 4 years; otherwise, it is very likely that the actual rate of recurrences will be significantly underestimated.