Bilateral locked posterior shoulder dislocation overlooked for 15 months treated with the modified McLaughlin procedure: A case report

Abstract

Neglected bilateral posterior shoulder dislocation is a rare injury caused primarily by an epileptic seizure. The injury is usually associated with a reverse Hill-Sachs lesion in the anteromedial aspect of the humeral head. The modified McLaughlin technique may avoid instability and osteoarthritis when 20 to 40% of the articular surface is affected by reverse Hill-Sachs. In this article, we present the clinical results of a case overlooked in the literature for the longest time, i.e., for 15 months. A 46-year-old male patient was receiving treatment for epilepsy for five years. There was no fall or trauma in the four seizures he had during this time. The last seizure was 15 months ago. When the patient presented to our clinic, both shoulders were symmetrically deformed, the anterior shoulder contour disappeared (empty socket sign), and there was a loss of upper contour. The computed tomography (CT) scan revealed a posteriorly locked dislocation with a reverse Hill-Sachs lesion in 32% of the left shoulder and 36% of the right shoulder. We applied the modified McLaughlin procedure to the dominant right shoulder and, two months later, we used it to the left shoulder (with a graft taken from the anterior superior iliac spine). At one-year of follow-up, both shoulders were moderately functional: forward elevation left 70° and right 50°, abduction left 40° and right 60°, and internal rotation: the back of the hand could touch the fifth lumbar vertebra. Meanwhile, the patient did not suffer from recurrent dislocation. The pre- and postoperative Constant-Murley Scores for the right and left shoulder were 30/52 and 11/48, respectively. Although the operational outcomes using the modified McLaughlin technique were not ideal, with no recurrence, the patient seemed to be satisfied with this outcome. In conclusion, in neglected locked shoulder fracture-dislocations, the modified McLaughlin technique is a method that can respond to the pathophysiology by eliminating reverse Hill–Sachs lesion.