We evaluated 43 patients who underwent revision shoulder stabilization between 1978 and 1992. Twenty-three shoulders in 23 patients had unidirectional anterior shoulder instability (group A), whereas 21 shoulders in 20 patients exhibited multiple directions of shoulder instability (group B). Within group A recurrent instability developed at a mean of 35.5 months after the initial stabilization. Recurrence was traumatic in 12 patients. Revision surgery included a Bankart repair in 19 patients (coupled with capsular shift in 15 and a Bristow in 1) and capsular shift alone in 4. Within group B recurrent instability developed at a mean of only 16 months after the initial stabilization and was traumatic in only 2 patients. Revision surgery included capsular shift in 11 patients, Bankart repair in 5, anterior/posterior graft reconstruction in 3, and posterior bone block in 2. All patients had significant capsular laxity. A Bankart lesion was found in only 24% of patients. The mean follow-up from revision was 77.3 months (range 24 to 196 months) in group A. The results were excellent in 8 patients, good in 7, fair in 4, and poor in 4. Three of the 4 failures, however, had undergone successful reoperation before follow-up, improving the number of good or excellent results to 18 (78%). In contrast, at a mean follow-up of 61.5 months, only 9 (39%) good or excellent results occurred in group B despite multiple reoperations. Four patients ultimately went on to have glenohumeral fusion. Revision shoulder stabilization is a reliable procedure for patients who have recurrent anterior instability; however, it is unpredictable in patients who have multidirectional instability, with surgical failure and reoperation occurring frequently.