How urgent is arthroscopic labral repair/capsulorraphy for cartilage and ligament tears in the shoulder?
Surgery for cartilage tears or instability is not an emergency. Labral repair or capsulorraphy are an elective outpatient procedure that can be scheduled when circumstances are optimal. The patient has time to become informed and to select an experienced surgeon. It is advisable to consider surgical repair even after a first-time dislocation. Recurrent instability occurs variably but is more frequent in young, aggressive athletes; that population has a rate of recurrence above 80 percent. Older, more sedentary people have lower rates of repeat dislocation. While the traditional wisdom has been to wait-and-see whether instability becomes a recurrent problem, each patient should make the decision about surgery based on available information. For example, a traditional weekend athlete who plays pickup ball might decide to wait-and-see, but the kayaker, skydiver or rock-climber might be at considerably more risk with a sudden re-dislocation in a precarious situation. Before surgery is unde
