No Clinical or Radiographic Difference Seen in Arthroscopic Bankart Repair With Knotted Versus Knotless Suture Anchors: A Randomized Controlled Trial at Short-Term Follow-Up

Purpose: The objective of this study was to compare the clinical and radiographic results of patients undergoing arthroscopic repair of labral lesions using knotted and knotless anchors. Methods: Sixty-four patients with anterior labral lesions (bone defects of the glenoid up to 13.5% or up to 20% if the instability severity index score was less than 4) and without other shoulder pathologies were randomly assigned to 2 groups, with 32 patients in each group. Clinical outcomes were assessed 6, 12, and 24 months after surgery by the Rowe score, Western Ontario shoulder instability index (WOSI), single assessment numeric evaluation (SANE), visual analog scale for pain (VASp), range of motion, and rate of post-operative recurrence. Postoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed, and the anterior and inferior labrum glenoid height indexes and anterior and inferior labral slopes were measured. The primary endpoint was the Rowe score at 24 months postoperatively. Results: Fifty-one patients, 24 in the knotted group and 27 in the knotless group, completed 24 months of follow-up. At 24 months, the Rowe scores were 81.7 +/- 19.9 points and 85.9 +/- 14 points, respectively (P = .623); the WOSI scores were 509.2 +/- 480.1 points and 555.9 +/- 393.6 points, respectively (P = .533); the SANE scores were 90.7 +/- 18.7 points and 89.2 +/- 14.8 points, respectively (P = .427); and the VASp scores were 1.7 +/- 2.5 points and 2.5 +/- 2.7 points, respectively (P = .275). There was no significant difference in range of motion, postoperative recurrence, or MRI parameters between the groups. All subjects (100%) in both groups exceeded the minimal clinically important difference of 9.7 for the Rowe score (P > .999). Conclusion: Repair of Bankart's lesion through the use of knotted and knotless suture anchors yielded similar clinical and radiographic results on analysis at 24 months after operation.