Distal clavicle autograft—I would like to use my own osteochondral graft please

Recent work has demonstrated the importance of addressing bone loss in the surgical management of anterior shoulder instability. Multiple options exist for reconstituting the glenoid articular surface to include: anatomic versus non-anatomic techniques and utilizing autograft versus allograft material. Anatomic restoration via an arthroscopic approach with distal clavicle osteochondral autograft (DCA) is the senior author’s preferred technique when bone grafting is indicated for instability cases. This technique offers a low cost, readily available, and reproducible means of obtaining autograft material. Moreover, the distal clavicle graft provides an anatomic restoration of the glenoid radius with an articular cartilage cap comparable in thickness to that of the native glenoid. Along with a summary of the pertinent literature, this review article outlines the rationale, indications, and technical notes for this procedure.