Arthroscopic treatment of glenoid labral tears.

We reviewed 52 consecutive patients who had undergone arthroscopic labral debridement. The average age was 29 and there were 35 men and 17 women. At operation, 27 patients had superior labrum anterior and posterior (SLAP) lesions, 20 patients had anteroinferior labral lesions, and 5 patients had posterior labral lesions. Despite the fact that, preoperatively, none of these patients had a history of dislocations or clinically evident instability, 70% of the patients with superior labral lesions, and all of those with anteroinferior and posterior lesions had instability on examination under anesthesia. The average followup was 36 months. At 1 year after arthroscopy, 78% of the patients with superior lesions had excellent relief compared with 30% of the patients in the anteroinferior group. At 2 years followup, these results decreased to 63% and 25%, respectively, and only 45% of the patients with superior labral lesions and 25% of those with anteroinferior lesions had returned to their previous athletic performance level. Four patients required a reoperation: 2 for instability and 2 for impingement. We conclude that occult instability is frequently present in patients with glenoid labral tears. The overall results are not encouraging, but this procedure may have an indication for short-term goals in competitive athletes or those who are willing to accept some compromise in function.