Should arthroscopy in adolescents: Three years of clinical experience

Background.Shoulder joint injuries and shoulder instability often occur in adolescents.Materials and methods. During a 3-year period, we performed arthroscopic surgery on 42 patients with shoulder joint injuries.Results and discussion. The majority (76.2%) of the patients on whom we performed arthroscopic shoulder joint surgery were male. This is likely due to more aggressive physical activity among males. Most of the patients were injured during exercise (n = 27, 64.3%). Arthroscopy is a highly effective surgical method for the treatment of shoulder joint injuries. Prolonged non-operative treatment with no well-established indications and an incorrect diagnosis can lead to rapid progression of degenerative and dystrophic changes of the shoulder joint and may result in shoulder joint dysfunction.