Introduction: Neglected locked posterior shoulder
dislocations, although rare, are quiet perplexing to manage.
Various treatment methods have been explained for their
management, but a consensus is still lacking. Besides
describing a novel technique for the management of these
lesions, this study aims to evaluate the mid-term outcome of
this technique.
Method: This prospective study involved seven consecutive
patients with locked posterior dislocation of the shoulder
with humeral defect between 25% and 50%. All patients
underwent open reduction of the locked posterior dislocation
with the current technique. The final outcome was assessed
at a mean follow up of 3.5 years (range 2-5 years) using the
DASH score.
Result: The mean age of the patients was 32 years (range 21-
44) and all were men. The mean time to presentation from
initial injury was 2.4 years (range 2-4 years). The patient
related outcome as measured by DASH score improved from
a preoperative mean of 59.1 to mean value of 8.6 at the time
of final follow up. There were no cases of graft pull out,
nonunion at the graft site or infection.
Conclusion: This technique results in pain-free range of
motion with a stable shoulder though a larger sample
population with a longer follow up is required to further
support our observations.