Latarjet Procedure in Turkey

The Latarjet procedure is a shoulder operation in which the surgeon moves a piece of bone called the coracoid, with its attached tendon, to the front of the socket and fixes it with screws. This page explains the Latarjet procedure in Turkey: what the surgery does, who needs it and how a 6-day trip works. It is general information, not personal medical advice, and your own surgeon's instructions always come first.

What does the Latarjet procedure fix?

The shoulder is a ball and socket joint, but the socket (the glenoid) is shallow, like a golf ball on a tee. Soft tissue around the rim, the labrum and the capsule, keeps the ball in place. After a dislocation, that tissue can tear or stretch. In some people the front rim of the socket also loses bone, or the ball gets a dent from the impact. The shoulder then slips out again with simple movements, such as reaching up, throwing or even sleeping.

The Latarjet procedure answers that bone loss. The coracoid is a hook-shaped bone at the front of your shoulder blade. The surgeon cuts off its tip, with the tendon still attached, and fixes it to the front of the socket with two screws or suture buttons. Three things then protect you. The bone makes the socket longer, the tendon forms a sling that tightens when you raise the arm, and the surgeon repairs the capsule to the new bone. People with shoulder instability or repeated shoulder dislocation are the main candidates.

What are the alternatives?

After a first dislocation, many people recover with physiotherapy. Surgeons often suggest a soft-tissue repair, such as a shoulder labral repair, for younger patients with little bone loss. The Latarjet procedure becomes the usual choice when bone loss is significant, when a repair has already failed, or when sport and work put the shoulder at high risk. Other bone-block options exist, and your surgeon will explain the choice.

What does the Turkey pathway look like?

Most people spend 6 days in Turkey. Day 1 is arrival, day 2 is assessment with a scan, and surgery follows on day 3. The operation takes about 100 minutes, and you spend 1 hospital night. You then attend a check and fly home. Main recovery lasts about 20 weeks. We coordinate records, hotel, transfers and 12 months of remote follow-up. The Latarjet procedure guide covers the surgical details.

Choosing the Latarjet procedure in Turkey rather than a unit at home changes the wait, the payment route and the way follow-up works, while the surgical steps stay similar. Because this is a bone operation that few surgeons do often, the number of cases your surgeon performs matters more than the country. The table sets the main factors side by side, with no prices.

Does waiting make a recurrent dislocation worse?

It can. Every new dislocation can chip more bone off the socket rim, and a shoulder that slips during sleep or a shrug rarely settles on its own. Long public lists therefore push some patients to look abroad. A quick date still needs a CT scan and a clear measurement of bone loss, wherever you have the Latarjet procedure abroad or at home.

Whose hands matter more than the postcode?

A busy shoulder unit in any of the four countries can do this operation well. A surgeon who performs a handful per year cannot. Ask each team for annual numbers, how often the bone block fails to join and how they handle a nerve injury. Turkey adds access to surgeons who use both open and arthroscopic methods, but you should still ask for their own figures.

How does the rehabilitation chain differ?

At home, the surgeon who operated also checks the X-ray at 6 weeks and watches the bone join. After a trip, you depend on a local physiotherapist who follows a protocol written elsewhere, and on a local radiology clinic that sends images back. That works if you arrange it before you fly. It works poorly if you leave it until a problem appears.

Which legal and insurance points differ?

Care in Turkey falls under Turkish law, and a home insurer may refuse to pay for complications after elective surgery abroad. Read your travel policy line by line, and ask the hospital in writing who covers a second operation if the bone does not heal.

When should you stay home?

Stay home if a specialist unit near you can operate within a few weeks, if your dislocations come from seizures, loose joints or voluntary slipping, or if your insurer will only fund care it arranges. See our questions to ask before surgery abroad guide before you decide.

Our current partner hospitals for the Latarjet procedure in Turkey are in Istanbul and Izmir, so those two cities are where most patients travel. Ankara and Antalya remain possible on request, and we tell you before you book whether a suitable shoulder surgeon is free there. Choose by flight time, climate and how far you want to walk with an arm in a sling.

Is the Latarjet procedure in Istanbul the easiest option?

For most travellers, yes. The Latarjet procedure in Istanbul means a short list of direct flights from Europe and the Gulf, two airports to choose between and a wide pool of shoulder surgeons. Crowded trams and ferries are the main hazard for a sling arm, so book private transfers and keep your day short. Read about Istanbul before you pick it.

What does Izmir offer a patient with a bone-block repair?

Izmir suits a quiet week. Flat promenades let you walk for 20 to 30 minutes a day, which keeps your legs moving and your mind off the shoulder. Surgeons in Izmir may favour different screw systems from those in Istanbul, so ask your coordinator which hardware each team uses. The Izmir page has local detail.

When would you ask about Ankara or Antalya?

Ankara fits patients whose history needs a university team, for example after a failed earlier stabilisation. Antalya fits those who want a resort setting, though sweat under a dressing and strap can irritate the wound, so ask for an air-conditioned room. Both stay on request for this operation. See Ankara and Antalya.

Whichever city you choose, we book the transfer and the hotel, so you only carry what one hand can hold.

With the Latarjet procedure in Turkey you spend one night on the ward: you arrive fasting on the morning of surgery, the operation takes about 100 minutes and you walk out the next day. Timings differ by hospital and surgeon, and a longer case may keep you a little longer.

What happens between the front door and the theatre?

Admissions staff check your name, allergies and medicines. The surgeon marks the shoulder with a pen, and the anaesthetist explains the plan. Your interpreter sits in on both talks. A nurse may clip hair under the arm, and you change into a gown.

What does an interscalene block do?

Most patients have general anaesthesia plus an interscalene block, an injection beside the nerves in the neck that numbs the shoulder for roughly 8 to 18 hours. Your arm feels heavy. For a few hours your voice can sound hoarse, one eyelid can droop and breathing can feel odd. These effects pass, and the nurses watch you closely.

How does the surgeon move the bone?

1. The team positions you in a half-sitting beach-chair and washes the skin.
2. The surgeon cuts at the front of the shoulder and reaches the coracoid between two muscles.
3. They detach the bone tip with its tendon, trim it and drill two holes through it.
4. They open the subscapularis fibres and the capsule to see the damaged socket rim, then freshen the bone so it can heal.
5. They hold the coracoid on the rim and drive in two screws, or tie suture buttons, then check the fit.
6. They sew the capsule to the new bone, close the layers and place a dressing and sling.

An arthroscopic version uses small portals and often takes longer.

What does the first night feel like?

You wake in recovery with a numb arm and nurses checking your fingers. You sit up, sip water and eat light food within a couple of hours. On the ward, staff help you stand and walk to the toilet. Many patients sleep half upright in a reclining bed.

How do nurses keep pain down?

Take the first tablet while the block still works, since pain can arrive fast when it fades. Paracetamol is the base, with a short course of a stronger drug if needed. Ice helps. Many surgeons avoid anti-inflammatory tablets for a while because they may slow bone healing, so follow the rule you receive.

What decides your discharge?

You go to your hotel the next day when your hand has colour and movement, pain stays under control, the dressing is dry and the screw position looks right on X-ray. You leave with written instructions and an emergency number. Our hospital admission guide and surgery day guide describe more.

Aftercare for the Latarjet procedure in Turkey continues at home with physiotherapy, wound checks, a scan when needed and remote reviews from your surgical team. A clear plan matters, because the bone must join the socket before you load the shoulder. Follow the plan that your surgeon gives you.

What is the follow-up schedule?

Expect photo or video checks at about 2 weeks, 6 weeks and 3 months, and a final review at 12 months. The exact timing is set by your surgeon. You send pictures of the wound and a short note on pain, range of movement and sleep. Our follow-up guide lists what to prepare.

Do you need physiotherapy?

Yes, most people do. A physiotherapist guides passive movement first, then active movement, then strengthening. They need your written protocol, because the usual rule is to limit outward rotation and avoid heavy pulling for about 6 to 8 weeks. Book a therapist before you travel. Our rehabilitation guide explains typical goals.

What about medicines, stitches and imaging?

You use simple pain relief for a couple of weeks, and your surgeon decides about anti-inflammatory tablets. A local nurse or doctor can remove stitches at about 10 to 14 days if your surgeon asks. An X-ray at about 6 to 12 weeks, and sometimes a CT scan later, shows whether the bone has healed. Ask a local radiology unit to send the images to us.

Which warning signs need urgent care?

• Redness, heat, pus or a wound that opens.
• Fever above 38 degrees Celsius.
• Fingers that turn pale, blue or cold, or a hand that loses feeling.
• A sudden pop, a clunk or a feeling that the shoulder slips again.
• Calf pain, swelling or sudden breathlessness, which can signal a clot.

How do teams handle complications?

Contact your coordinator and a local doctor on the same day. Your surgeon reviews photos, X-rays and records, and a local team treats infection or swelling nearby. If you need a repeat procedure, we share records quickly.

How do you hand over records?

Bring the operation note, the screw type and size, the anaesthetic details, your discharge X-ray and your medicine list. Share them with your family doctor and physiotherapist, and keep a copy yourself.

The Latarjet procedure in Turkey can be safe when you choose a licensed facility and an experienced shoulder surgeon, but this is a bone operation near major nerves, so every step matters. Serious problems are uncommon. Careful technique and a clear aftercare plan reduce risk without removing it.

How are hospitals licensed and accredited?

The Turkish Ministry of Health licenses hospitals, and some also hold Joint Commission International (JCI) accreditation. Ask for the licence number and any accreditation certificate, and check them with the issuer. Accreditation is helpful but optional, and it does not replace surgeon checks. See our hospital directory.

How do you check a surgeon?

Ask for the surgeon's training, specialist registration and whether they focus on shoulder surgery. Ask how many Latarjet operations they do each year, how often they see non-union and how they deal with complications. A good surgeon answers with numbers and does not rush you.

How do teams prevent infection and other problems?

Teams clean the skin, use sterile instruments and drapes, and give a dose of antibiotic before the cut. Careful skin cleaning matters, because skin germs can infect the shoulder. They protect the nerves by staying close to the bone and by using a safe screw length. Because you walk soon after surgery, clot risk is low. Surgeons record the screw type and batch number so the device can be traced.

What are the real risks of this operation?

• Recurrence, where the shoulder slips again, often after a fall or if the bone does not heal.
• Injury to a nerve, most often the musculocutaneous or axillary nerve, which is rare and often temporary.
• Screw problems, such as a screw that is too long, loose or irritating, which may need removal.
• Non-union or movement of the bone block, which may need further surgery.
• Stiffness, usually in outward rotation, which improves with guided physiotherapy.
• Infection or a wound that heals slowly, which is uncommon.
• Arthritis of the shoulder over many years, which can follow dislocations and surgery.
• Bleeding, blood clots and anaesthetic problems, which teams plan for.

Your surgeon explains how often each occurs for your case.

What are the red flags of a poor provider?

• No named surgeon or no shoulder surgery training.
• No CT scan or no measurement of bone loss before surgery.
• Pressure to book fast or pay a large deposit.
• No plan for follow-up or complications after you fly home.

If you want a personal review, request a free quote and case review.