Anatomic Reduction and Fixation for Glenoid Fractures: The Kissing Anchor Technique

Abstract

Up to one fifth of glenoid fractures are intra-articular and associated with recurrent anterior dislocation. Surgery is often the indicated treatment, and as with many other articular fractures, it aims for a perfectly congruent and flush reconstruction of the articular surface to avoid the onset of secondary degenerative joint diseases. The purpose of this paper is to describe a reproducible, simple arthroscopic technique that uses suture anchors to fix the glenoid fragment with a strong and stable construct called “kissing anchors.” This method provides the advantages of both direct and indirect stabilizing effects. It applies 2 anchors, one inside the fragment and the other inside the fracture bed, to stabilize and fix the fragment, and is adequately associated with labrum refixation, which provides the construct with increased stability. However, a surgeon willing to apply it should already be confident with basic shoulder arthroscopy and should have performed an appropriate amount of arthroscopic shoulder stabilizations.