How many dislocations of the shoulder can you tolerate before you have surgery? It depends on whether you’ve had one dislocation, your activity level, or where you’re in life.
Sometimes, that’s too many for a young contact athlete. We almost always tell them, “If you don’t get this fixed, there’s a 99% chance it will continue to bother you.”
You can typically get away with one if you’re an older, less active patient. After it dislocates a second time, I always recommend surgery. After that second one, the track increases and keeps coming out repeatedly. And then you start to lose bone, and it becomes harder and harder to fix.
Our outcomes go down the more it comes out, so some people can get away with one. Most of the time, younger people would recommend going in and having an operation to stabilize it. After two, I say, “You should go ahead and get this fixed because it will keep coming out.”
Get expert surgical care for your dislocated shoulder. Book an appointment with Dr. Kevin Kruse at (469) 717-6183.