The Boytchev procedure for recurrent anterior dislocation of the shoulder. A controversial technique.

In the Boytchev technique the conjoined tendons of the coracobrachialis and short head of the biceps, together with the tendon of the pectoralis minor and the detached tip of the coracoid process are rerouted behind the subscapularis muscle, and reattached to the coracoid process with a screw. During a 10-year period 37 patients with recurrent anterior dislocation underwent a Boytchev procedure. Twenty-six patients (with 27 shoulders) were available to follow-up. The results of this retrospective study were disappointing, as the overall redislocation rate was 44%. The opinions of other authors were found to be extremely divergent.