Arthroscopic Reduction and Balloon Humeroplasty in the Treatment of Acute Hill-Sachs Lesions

Abstract

Shoulder instability is often associated with an impaction fracture of the humeral head, commonly referred to as a “Hill-Sachs lesion.” This lesion is present in both anterior and posterior instability. Forty percent to 90% of anterior shoulder dislocations have associated Hill-Sachs lesions, whereas 29% to 86% of posterior shoulder dislocations have reverse Hill-Sachs lesions. Both of these lesions can contribute to recurrent instability of the shoulder and require surgery to be treated. Currently, the most common procedures to address Hill-Sachs lesions are the remplissage procedure (transfer of the infraspinatus into the posterior humeral head defect), capsular shift, disimpaction technique, humeral head resurfacing, bone block transfer, or shoulder arthroplasty. Reverse Hill-Sachs lesions are managed with similar procedures, such as the remplissage-equivalent technique described by McLaughlin, which involves transfer of the subscapularis tendon to fill the humeral head defect. The procedure has the advantage of “exteriorizing” the humeral head defect, but in the case of large lesions, it can result in significant loss of the articulating articular surface. The purpose of this article is to describe an arthroscopically assisted disimpaction technique with supplemental grafting using a balloon osteoplasty technique for a reverse Hill-Sachs lesion with bone cement to support and maintain the reduction.