Editorial Commentary: Personalized Medicine for Shoulder Instability May Result in Best Outcomes With the Lowest Complication Rates

Abstract

Personalization is a type of medical care in which the treatment is customized for an individual patient. When treating shoulder instability, we need to consider not only soft-tissue damage but also the bony lesion and patient characteristics. Of particular importance is the consideration of whether there is anterior glenoid bone loss, together with the presence of a Hill–Sachs lesion, on or off-track, as well as whether the patient is hyperlax and/or is an athlete, in which case in what type of sport. In hyperlax, nonoverhead sport athletes with recurrent anterior instability and glenoid bone loss <15%, Bankart repair with subscapularis augmentation is an effective procedure with a lower risk of complications and arthritis than a bony procedure. This is a perfect example of personalized medicine indicating a particular treatment to the benefit of patients.