A postoperative follow-up of one and one-half to ten years was obtained
in 114 of 121 patients who underwent either a Bankart or a modified
Putti-Platt procedure. In the forty-six patients who had a Bankart
operation, there was one recurrence (2 per cent) compared with thirteen
recurrences (19 per cent) in the sixty-eight patients who had a modified
Putti-Platt procedure. Twelve (36 per cent) of the latter recurrences
occurred in patients who were twenty-five years old or younger at the time
of the operation and only one occurred in the patients who were more than
twenty-five years old. The restriction of outward rotation after shortening
of the subscapular tendon averaged 6 degrees as compared with 16 degrees
after a Bankart operation. A modified Putti-Platt procedure (shortening of
the subscapular tendon) is recommended only for patients who are more than
thirty years old. It does offer certain advantages for them because of the
simplicity of the procedure and the short duration of the operation.