Horizontal Mattress With a Knotless Anchor to Better Recreate the Normal Superior Labrum Anatomy

Arthroscopic repair of type II superior labral tears using suture anchors has resulted in a good to excellent outcome in most cases. In throwing athletes, however, the results have not been as consistent. Although it has not been reported in the literature, it is also possible that, in a very small number of throwers, the limited space in the glenohumeral joint combined with the bulky knots used to secure the labrum to the anchor may be a cause of discomfort. In addition, the superior labrum is meniscoid in appearance, which traditional SLAP repair techniques do not recreate. We describe here a novel technique using a knotless anchor to repair the superior labrum, thereby eliminating the potential for knot-related complications. More importantly, this horizontal mattress-knotless anchor technique better recreates the normal meniscoid appearance of the superior labrum.