Reverse Total Shoulder Replacement
The shoulder joint is a ball and socket joint formed by the union of the head of the upper arm bone (humerus) and the shoulder socket (glenoid). The rotator cuff is a group of four tendons that join the head of the humerus to the deeper shoulder muscles to provide stability and mobility to the shoulder joint.
When the rotator cuff is torn, it can cause wear and tear to the shoulder joint and lead to shoulder arthritis. Conventional surgical methods such as total shoulder joint replacement have been shown to be significantly ineffective in the treatment of rotator cuff arthropathy.
Description:
Reverse total shoulder replacement, is an advanced surgical technique specifically designed for rotator cuff tear arthropathy, a condition where the patient suffers from both shoulder arthritis and a rotator cuff tear.
Conventional shoulder replacement surgery involves replacing the ball of the arm bone (humerus) with a metal ball and the socket (glenoid cavity) of the shoulder blade (scapula) with a plastic socket. If this surgery is used to treat rotator cuff arthropathy, it may result in loosening of the implants due to the torn rotator cuff. Therefore a specifically designed surgery was developed called reverse total shoulder replacement to be employed in such cases.
In reverse total shoulder replacement, the placement of the artificial components is essentially reversed. In other words, the humeral ball is placed in the glenoid cavity of the shoulder blade (scapula) and the plastic socket is placed on top of the arm bone. This design makes efficient use of the deltoid muscle, the large shoulder muscle, in order to compensate for the torn rotator cuff.
Candidates for Surgery:
Reverse total shoulder replacement may be recommended for the following situations:
- Completely torn rotator cuff that is difficult to repair
- Presence of cuff tear arthropathy
- Previous unsuccessful shoulder replacement
- Severe shoulder pain and difficulty in performing overhead activities
- Continued pain despite other treatments such as rest, medications, cortisone injections, and physical therapy
What to Expect with a Shoulder Replacement Surgery. Click here to learn more from our partner Exactech.
Exactech Reverse Shoulder Replacement Patient Animation from Exactech on Vimeo.