Latarjet Procedure Recovery
Latarjet Coracoid Transfer
What the operation does
A small piece of bone called the coracoid, which sits at the front of the shoulder blade with two tendons attached to it, is cut free and moved onto the front rim of the shoulder socket, where it is held with one or two screws. The socket becomes wider and deeper at exactly the point where the shoulder was sliding out, and the tendons that came with the bone add a further restraint across the front.
Why bone rather than soft tissue
Because in your shoulder there was not enough bone left to stitch to. Every dislocation can wear a little off the front rim of the socket, and past roughly fifteen to twenty per cent missing, a soft-tissue repair is anchoring into a rim that is no longer there — those repairs fail at high rates. Moving a block of bone in replaces what was lost instead of trying to rebuild around the gap.
The three ways it works
Worth knowing, because it explains why the operation is so reliable. First, the bone block widens the socket so the ball has further to travel before it can escape. Second, the tendons that came across with it lie over the front of the joint and act as a strap when the arm is raised and rotated out. Third, the capsule is repaired over the top of it. Three restraints rather than one is the reason redislocation rates are low even in shoulders where a repair had already failed.
Why this was chosen for you
Generally one of: significant bone loss on the socket, a Bankart repair that has already failed, or a collision athlete in whom the risk of a soft-tissue repair failing was judged too high. It is a bigger operation than a Bankart and it is chosen when a Bankart would not hold, rather than as a first resort.
The bone has to unite
This is the difference that shapes the whole recovery. A Bankart repair heals soft tissue to bone; here a block of bone has to knit into the socket, like a fracture. That takes around three months and is usually confirmed on a scan before contact sport is allowed. It is why the second phase of this programme is called bone healing and runs to twelve weeks, and why clearance is decided by imaging rather than by feel.
The nerve risk
The most important thing to understand about this operation specifically. Nerves run close to the front of the shoulder and to the coracoid, and they are at more risk here than in any other shoulder stabilisation. Most nerve problems are temporary — numbness or weakness that recovers over weeks to months — and permanent injury is uncommon but recognised. Gentle nerve gliding is in the programme from the first phase for that reason. Numbness, tingling or weakness in the arm after surgery is worth reporting rather than waiting out.
The screws
One or two screws hold the bone block. They usually stay permanently. Occasionally a screw becomes prominent, irritates tissue, or is associated with the block not uniting, and is removed later. Screws breaking or loosening is uncommon and shows up on the routine scans.
What you protect against
The same position as any stabilisation — arm out to the side and rotated outward — plus, for the first weeks, anything that loads the front of the shoulder through the arm, since that stresses the block and the screws. Pushing up out of a chair with the arm, pressing movements, and lifting away from the body all wait.
Outward rotation afterwards
Most people lose a small amount permanently, because the tendons now crossing the front of the joint act as a restraint. It is usually modest and rarely limits daily life. Throwers notice it more than most, and it is worth discussing specifically if throwing matters to you.
How well it holds
This is the operation's strength. Redislocation rates after a Latarjet are low, including in the collision athletes and revision situations where soft-tissue repairs struggle most. Where people are dissatisfied it is more often about stiffness, ongoing ache at the front of the shoulder, or hardware than about the shoulder coming out again.
Apprehension
The sense that the shoulder is about to go, usually with the arm out and back. Common after any stabilisation and it often outlasts the actual instability. It fades with strength and with graded exposure to those positions under supervision, which is part of what the later phases are for.
Contact sport and clearance
Later than for most shoulder operations, and deliberately. Non-contact activity commonly returns around four to six months. Collision and contact sport generally waits until the bone block is confirmed united on a scan and strength is restored — commonly nine months or beyond. That timetable reflects both the bone healing and the fact that this operation is usually done in exactly the people who load a shoulder hardest.
Driving and work
Driving generally waits until you are out of the sling and can control the wheel with both hands comfortably — commonly around four to six weeks. Desk-based work is often possible within one to two weeks. Work involving lifting, pushing, or overhead reaching commonly waits three to four months, and heavy manual work until union is confirmed.
How the recovery usually unfolds
Three weeks in a sling with gentle movement and nerve gliding. Three to twelve weeks the sling goes, rotation is rebuilt, and the bone block quietly unites. Three to six months brings strengthening in earnest. Six to nine months brings heavy loading and sport-specific work. Nine months onward is collision sport, once a scan has confirmed union.
Staying in touch with your care team
How much bone was missing, whether this followed a failed repair, and how the block unites all change this recovery. Your surgeon knows those details and will be following the scans. If something about your recovery is worrying you or does not match what is described here — particularly numbness, tingling or weakness in the arm — contact your care team rather than waiting.
Exercises for Latarjet Procedure
An illustrated, phase-by-phase exercise program for this procedure. View the Latarjet Procedure exercise program.
Recovery education · Condition guides · Exercise programs
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This guide is general education and doesn't replace evaluation by a licensed provider. Recovery and treatment vary by person — follow the guidance of your own surgeon or care team.