Background: Even though surgery is commonly used to treat glenohumeral instability, there is no evidence that such treatment effectively corrects glenohumeral translation.

Purpose: This study aimed to analyze the effect of a new capsular reconstruction on residual micromotion after Latarjet procedure.

Methods: Bilateral glenohumeral translation was assessed in nine patients preoperatively and one year postoperatively following Latarjet with a new capsular reconstruction (treatment group). Translation was measured using optical motion capture, computer tomography (CT) reconstructions, and 3- dimensional (3D) simulation. The results were compared with a previous cohort of eleven patients operated with traditional capsular reconstruction (control group).

Results: A total of 20 patients were included in this study. The median follow-up duration was 12 months (range, 12 to 16 months). A statistically significant improvement in shoulder pain and function was reported postoperatively in treatment and control groups. No patients reported recurrent dislocation during the study period or had a positive apprehension sign at the final follow-up. The preoperative to postoperative range of motion (ROM) improvement was more pronounced in the treatment group than the control group with respect to shoulder flexion (P = .001), abduction (P = .041), and internal rotation with elbow at side (P = .035) for thoracohumeral motion, and shoulder abduction (P = .037), and internal rotation at 90/90 position (P = .006) for glenohumeral motion. The treatment group also exhibited more significant preoperative to postoperative reduction in anteroposterior translation during shoulder internal and external rotation with the elbow at the side (P = .018 and .016, respectively).

Conclusion: This study demonstrated that a new type of capsulolabral reconstruction during the Latarjet procedure could reduce residual anteroposterior micromotion compared with a previously used technique, without compromising postoperative ROM. Although no differences in clinical apprehension were observed between groups, these biomechanical findings support the hypothesis that careful capsular management may influence postoperative shoulder stability. Whether this effect translates into long-term clinical benefit remains to be established in larger studies with extended follow-up.