Research advances on anterior shoulder instability associated with glenoid bone defect

Anterior shoulder instability is a very difficult issue to treat, especially with glenoid bone defect. When the defect is small, there is little influence on shoulder instability. The larger the defect is, the more influence there will be. Most authors agree that glenoid bone reconstruction should be considered when glenoid bone defect is more than 20%-25%. In this condition soft tissue procedures alone are not enough to provide stability to the shoulder. To date, there is still not an ideal typing of glenoid bone defect. There are many methods of assessing the size of bone defect. Pico system is one of the most common methods, as it is easier and more precise. Numerous surgical procedures have been described to address the bone defect. The Bristow procedure, the Latarjet procedure and the Eden-hybinette procedure are effective and most popular around the world. The Latarjet procedure can provide more bone blocking than the Bristow procedure, and is more popular. The Eden-hybinette procedure dose not need coracoid transfer and then has no damage of normal anatomical structure. But it also lack the hanging effect of the conjoint tendon. After all, each procedure has its advantage and disadvantage in treating anterior shoulder instability associated with glenoid bone defect and should be chosen depending on the characteristics of each patient and the preference of each surgeon. Furthermore, more new and effective treatments are still needed.