The terrible triad of the shoulder, a combination of anterior shoulder dislocation, massive rotator cuff tear and neurologic injury, is rare. We experienced 4 patients with this condition who were treated with a rotator cuff repair. The mean age was 65 years. Follow-up averaged 27 months. All patients had a history of redislocation after initial traumatic shoulder dislocation and were evaluated with electromyography and magnetic resonance imaging. At the operation, massive rotator cuff tear and hypertrophy of the long head of the biceps were found in all patients. Clinically, 3 patients achieved recovery of their nerve injury by 3 months postoperatively and the final results were fair. In one patient, there was no recovery of deltoid function and this case was rated as a failure. For this injury pattern, the prognosis appears to be dependent on eventual nerve recovery when the rotator cuff has been repaired early.