Treatment options for locked posterior shoulder dislocations and clinical outcomes

Abstract

Posterior dislocations are rare and diagnostically difficult injuries. Diagnosis is often delayed and this leads to a locked posteriorly dislocated humeral head. Treatment options include conservative methods and surgical anatomic reconstruction options as well as non-anatomic surgical procedures such as subscapularis tendon transfer, hemiarthroplasty and total shoulder arthroplasty. Decision-making for treatment as well as prognosis depend on the extent of the articular defect size of the humeral head, duration of the dislocation and patient-specific conditions such as age and activity levels. Cite this article: EFORT Open Rev 2019;4:194-200. DOI: 10.1302/2058-5241.4.180043