Abstract
Superior labral anterior posterior (SLAP) lesions of the shoulder arise from various causes and have some controversies in their treatment. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the outcomes of arthroscopic SLAP repair and the relationship between injury mechanisms and outcomes. We evaluated the clinical results of 24 patients (mean 33 months follow-up) who had an arthroscopic isolated SLAP (type II: 21, type III: 1, type IV: 2 patients) repair with suture anchors. These labral tears were arthroscopically repaired with 1–4 anchors (mean 1.8). All patients were evaluated with University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) scores. There were the following injury mechanisms: compression-type, 10; traction-type, 9; combined or other-type, 5 patients. We also compared the clinical results according to the injury mechanisms. Preoperatively, the mean of UCLA and VAS scores were 22.7 and 6.4 points, respectively. At an average of 33 months postoperatively, the mean of UCLA and VAS scores were 29.9 and 2.1 points, respectively. There was statistical improvement in the subjective scores from the pre- to post-operation. UCLA and VAS scores of the pre- and post-operation were not statistically different according to the injury mechanisms. Arthroscopic repair is effective in the treatment of isolated SLAP lesion and injury mechanisms do not affect the clinical outcomes.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Boileau P, Baque F, Valerio L, Ahrens P, Chuinard C, Trojani C (2007) Isolated arthroscopic biceps tenotomy or tenodesis improves symptoms in patients with massive irreparable rotator cuff tears. J Bone Joint Surg Am 89:747–757
Boileau P, Neyton L (2005) Arthroscopic tenodesis for lesions of the long head of the biceps. Oper Orthop Traumatol 17:601–623
Buess E, Schneider C (2006) Simplified single-portal V-shaped SLAP repair. Arthroscopy 22:680, e681–e684
Burkart A, Debski R, Musahl V, McMahon P, Woo SL (2003) Biomechanical tests for type II SLAP lesions of the shoulder joint before and after arthroscopic repair. Orthopade 32:600–607
Burkhart SS, Morgan CD, Kibler WB (2003) The disabled throwing shoulder: spectrum of pathology Part I: pathoanatomy and biomechanics. Arthroscopy 19:404–420
Burkhart SS, Morgan CD, Kibler WB (2003) The disabled throwing shoulder: spectrum of pathology Part III: The SICK scapula, scapular dyskinesis, the kinetic chain, and rehabilitation. Arthroscopy 19:641–661
Burkhart SS, Morgan CD, Kibler WB (2003) The disabled throwing shoulder: spectrum of pathology. Part II: evaluation and treatment of SLAP lesions in throwers. Arthroscopy 19:531–539
Cohen DB, Coleman S, Drakos MC, Allen AA, O’Brien SJ, Altchek DW, Warren RF (2006) Outcomes of isolated type II SLAP lesions treated with arthroscopic fixation using a bioabsorbable tack. Arthroscopy 22:136–142
Enad JG, Gaines RJ, White SM, Kurtz CA (2007) Arthroscopic superior labrum anterior-posterior repair in military patients. J Shoulder Elbow Surg 16(3):300–305
Field LD, Savoie FH 3rd (1993) Arthroscopic suture repair of superior labral detachment lesions of the shoulder. Am J Sports Med 21:783–790; Discussion 790
Kim SH, Ha KI, Kim SH, Choi HJ (2002) Results of arthroscopic treatment of superior labral lesions. J Bone Joint Surg Am 84-A:981–985
Maffet MW, Gartsman GM, Moseley B (1995) Superior labrum-biceps tendon complex lesions of the shoulder. Am J Sports Med 23:93–98
Mileski RA, Snyder SJ (1998) Superior labral lesions in the shoulder: pathoanatomy and surgical management. J Am Acad Orthop Surg 6:121–131
Morgan CD, Burkhart SS, Palmeri M, Gillespie M (1998) Type II SLAP lesions: three subtypes and their relationships to superior instability and rotator cuff tears. Arthroscopy 14:553–565
Nam EK, Snyder SJ (2003) The diagnosis and treatment of superior labrum, anterior and posterior (SLAP) lesions. Am J Sports Med 31:798–810
Paxinos A, Walton J, Rutten S, Muller M, Murrell GA (2006) Arthroscopic stabilization of superior labral (SLAP) tears with biodegradable tack: outcomes to 2 years. Arthroscopy 22:627–634
Reuss BL, Schwartzberg R, Zlatkin MB, Cooperman A, Dixon JR (2006) Magnetic resonance imaging accuracy for the diagnosis of superior labrum anterior-posterior lesions in the community setting: eighty-three arthroscopically confirmed cases. J Shoulder Elbow Surg 15:580–585
Rhee YG, Lee DH, Lim CT (2005) Unstable isolated SLAP lesion: clinical presentation and outcome of arthroscopic fixation. Arthroscopy 21:1099
Snyder SJ, Karzel RP, Del Pizzo W, Ferkel RD, Friedman MJ (1990) SLAP lesions of the shoulder. Arthroscopy 6:274–279
Tomlinson RJ Jr, Glousman RE (1995) Arthroscopic debridement of glenoid labral tears in athletes. Arthroscopy 11:42–51
Tuoheti Y, Itoi E, Minagawa H, Yamamoto N, Saito H, Seki N, Okada K, Shimada Y, Abe H (2005) Attachment types of the long head of the biceps tendon to the glenoid labrum and their relationships with the glenohumeral ligaments. Arthroscopy 21:1242–1249
Warner JJ, Kann S, Marks P (1994) Arthroscopic repair of combined Bankart and superior labral detachment anterior and posterior lesions: technique and preliminary results. Arthroscopy 10:383–391
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Park, J.H., Lee, Y.S., Wang, J.H. et al. Outcome of the isolated SLAP lesions and analysis of the results according to the injury mechanisms. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthr 16, 511–515 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00167-007-0482-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00167-007-0482-x