Professionals from the Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology Service at Bellvitge University Hospital (HUB) have developed a new metal-free Latarjet technique for shoulder instability surgery. This August a demonstration was given in a live broadcast from the Catalan hospital for one of the international reference courses, the Rosario Complex Knee Shoulder (Rocks), in Argentina.
Latarjet is the most commonly used surgical technique for shoulder instability surgery with bone defects. It consists of the transfer of the coracoid with the joint tendon to the area of the anterior glenoid defect, which is the plate on which the humeral head articulates and which forms the shoulder joint. Now, for the first time and thanks to the HUB team’s expertise, a strong fixation has been achieved, with a strength very similar to the usual metal screws used in this technique, but now iron-free, and thus avoiding any iron-related damage to adjacent tissues and muscles.
"What is new about this technique is the fixation of the coracoid bone with four cerclage tapes instead of the usual screws", explained Dr Abdulilah Hachem, traumatologist and orthopaedic surgeon super-specializing in the shoulder from the Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology Service at the HUB and member of numerous national, European and American scientific societies.
The new technique also eliminates the need for a second surgery to remove the screws and does not interfere with postoperative X-ray and MRI follow-up. "It allows us to avoid the iron-related problems and interference in diagnostic imaging tests," Dr Hachem pointed out.
The prestigious journal Arthroscopy Techniques has recently published about this new advance in shoulder surgery.
Live broadcast of a surgery using the new technique
On August 5, more than 150 orthopaedic surgeons and orthopaedic traumatologists followed the intervention broadcast live from the HUB in Argentina. Another 150 from other parts of the world have done so in streaming format, thanks to the support of the Audiovisual Service of the HUB.
The pathology chosen for the live intervention was common shoulder dislocation in a young athletic patient with bone defects in the glenoid.
Reference Article
Hachem A, Costa G, Rondanelli R, Rius X, Barco R, 2020. Latarjet Cerclage: The Metal-Free Fixation. Arthroscopy Techniques. DOI: 10.1016/j.eats.2020.05.024