Follow-up results 20 years after surgical treatment of habitual ventral shoulder luxation using the Eden-Lange technique.

After undergoing an operation according to the Eden-Lange technique, 56 patients with recurrent anterior shoulder luxation were re-examined clinically at an average follow-up period of 20 years. The mean age of the patients at the time of the operation was 24.9 years; the ratio of male to female patients was 2.3:1. The Ellman score (maximum of 27 points), stability tests, reluxation rate and X-ray examinations served as re-examination criteria. The mean score for the Ellmann test was 18.3 points; 29 patients had ventral instability. In the meantime 11 shoulders had redislocated. Fifty-one patients had arthrotic alterations in the operated shoulder. Because of the unsatisfactory functional and radiographical results, the Eden-Lange technique can no longer be accepted as the only treatment of choice for anterior shoulder dislocation.