AB122. SOH22ABS141. Type V superior labral anterior-posterior tears results in lower rates of return to play

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the rate of return to play (RTP) in patients who underwent Type V superior labrum anterior-posterior (SLAP) repair compared to patients who underwent isolated Bankart repair in the setting of traumatic anterior shoulder instability.

Methods: A retrospective review of patients who underwent Arthroscopic Bankart repair and SLAP repair by a single surgeon between 2012 and 2017 was performed. Additionally, these were pair matched in a 1:2 ratio for age, sex, sport and level of pre-operative play, with those undergoing isolated Arthroscopic Bankart repair alone as a control group. RTP, level of RTP and the timing of RTP were assessed.

Results: The study included a total of 96 patients, with 32 in the study group and 64 in the control group, and a mean follow-up of 59 months. Overall, there was no significant difference in the overall rate of RTP [26/32 (81.3%) vs. 56/64 (87.5%), n.s], but there was a significantly higher rate of RTP at the same/higher level in the control group [14/32 (43.6%) vs. 43/64 (67.2%), P=0.0463]. There was no significant difference in timing of RTP between the groups (n.s). There was no significant difference in recurrent instability [6/32 (18.8%) vs. 5/64 (7.8%), n.s] but there was a significant difference in revision rates [5/32 (15.6%) vs. 2/64 (3.1%), P=0.0392] between the Type V SLAP repair group and the control group.

Conclusions: Following arthroscopic repair, patients with Type V SLAP tears had a similar overall rate of RTP when compared directly to a control group of patients who underwent Arthroscopic Bankart repair alone. However, those who underwent Type V SLAP repair reported significantly lower rates of RTP at the same or higher level compared to the control group.

Keywords: Anterior shoulder instability; Bankart; collision athlete; return to play (RTP); Type V SLAP