Effect of Elevated BMI on Shoulder Stabilization Outcomes and Recurrence Rates.

Background: Body mass index (BMI) has been commonly studied in relation to hip and knee procedures, but the effect on shoulder instability procedures is less understood. This study aims to analyze BMI's relationship to clinical outcomes and recurrence rates after shoulder instability surgery. Hypothesis: Shoulder instability surgery in patients with elevated BMI will produce similar postoperative functional outcomes and recurrence rates to those with normal BMI. Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: This is a single-institution, retrospective study of patients who underwent operative treatment for shoulder instability and had 6 months of clinical follow-up between 2009 and 2023. Primary procedures included Bankart repair, Latarjet, distal tibial allograft, Hill-Sachs bone grafting, and remplissage. Patients were stratified into 3 cohorts by BMI: underweight or normal weight (U/NW; BMI, ≤25 kg/m Results: A total of 509 patients (391 male, 118 female) underwent surgery for recurrent shoulder instability. Of the total, 210 patients were normal or underweight (23 kg/m Conclusion: Our cohort demonstrated no significant association between obesity and outcomes of shoulder instability surgery. While the range of motion differences between the groups were statistically significant, these differences were not clinically significant and may be attributed to body habitus. Our findings suggest that shoulder instability surgery is a safe and effective procedure regardless of BMI.