Abstract

Anterior shoulder dislocation is frequently seen in young patients. The therapeutic regime in elderly patients after shoulder dislocation is less clearly defined. The aim of this study was to compare the clinical benefit of operative stabilisation following anterior shoulder dislocation in young versus elderly patients. Seventy-two patients with anterior shoulder dislocations were allocated into two groups. Group 1 (> 40 years of age) consisted of 23 patients, and group 2 (< 40 years of age) consisted of 49 patients. Operative stabilisation resulted in a significant reduction in recurrence rate in both groups. However, the clinical functional results measured by the Constant score, Rowe score and disabilities of the arm, shoulder and hand (DASH) score revealed significantly better outcomes in the younger (group 2) than in the older group (group 1). These results indicate that while operative stabilisation is equally effective in reducing recurrent shoulder dislocation in the elderly functional outcomes are not as good as in younger patients.