Arthroscopic Transosseous Suture Repair for Bankart Lesion with a Flexible Drill Device - An Experimental and Preliminary Clinical Report

Purpose: Too develop a flexible drill device that can be inserted into the shoulder joint so that arthroscopic transosseous suture repair for Bankart lesion is possible. Materials and Methods: We created a device composed of a flexible drill unit and a guide pipe unit. The flexible drill unit was made of flexible multifilament wires (1.2 mm in diameter) that was twisted into one cord so that it can flex in any direction and a drill bit (1.2 mm in diameter) that is attached onto one end of the flexible wire. The guide pipe unit was a 150 mm long metal pipe (2.0 mm in inner diameter and 3.0 mm in outer diameter), with one end bent to 30 degrees. The flexible drill set was inserted into the shoulder joint through the posterior portal of the joint. The guide pipe component was placed onto the medial wall of the glenoid so that the pipe was placed 5 mm posterior to the margin of the anterior glenoid rim. The flexible drill was driven through the glenoid by the power drill so that holes were made in the glenoid. A non- absorbable suture was passed through the hole. Tying of a sliding knot tying was accomplished over the capsule and labrum after making a stitch through the capsule and labrum with a suture hook loaded with suture passer. The same procedures were done at the 2 and 4 O`Clock positions of the glenoid. Results: Five cases with Bankart lesion received arthroscopic transosseous repair with our flexible drill device. There were no intraoperative problems. Neither redislocation nor subluxation was reported at final follow-up. Conclusion: Arthroscopic transosseous suture repair without suture anchors and easy tying of a sliding knot are possible with a flexible drill set.