There exists a considerable amount of evidence regarding short-term outcomes of shoulder arthroscopy in athletes; however, mid- to long-term data are limited. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to evaluate studies assessing mid- to long-term outcomes and rates of return to sport in athletes undergoing primary shoulder arthroscopy. A search for the systematic review was performed in PubMed, Scopus, and Embase on 14 March 2023. Study parameters, as well as their respective outcomes, were described in detail and compiled into diagrams. Five studies were included, which contained data on a total of 307 shoulders in patients with mean ages ranging from 20.3 to 26.9 years and mean follow-up times ranging from 6.3 to 14 years. The arthroscopic Bankart repair was the primary surgical intervention performed in all five studies. The overall rate of return to sport was 84% (range, 70-100%) across the studies. The rate of return to sport at pre-injury level was 65.2% (range, 40-82.6%) across four studies. The overall rate of recurrent instability was 17.3%, with redislocation specifically occurring in 13.7% of patients across all studies. The overall rate of revision surgery was 11.1%. Athletes who underwent primary shoulder arthroscopy demonstrated favorable outcomes and a high rate of RTS at a minimum follow-up of 5 years. However, rates of recurrent instability, redislocation, and revision surgery occurred at less than favorable numbers, which emphasizes the importance of proper patient selection when considering candidates for arthroscopic versus open repairs.
Keywords: Bankart lesion; athlete; return to sports; shoulder arthroscopy.