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Expanding roles for reverse shoulder arthroplasty

  • Shoulder Arthroplasty (G Athwal, Section Editor)
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Current Reviews in Musculoskeletal Medicine Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Since its introduction in the USA in 2003, reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (RTSA) has been used with increasingly frequency as surgeons have observed the remarkable improvement in pain, range of motion, and function associated with this implant. RTSA was initially used exclusively for elderly, low demand individuals with end-stage rotator cuff tear arthropathy. However, RTSA is now being increasingly successfully employed for the management of irreparable rotator cuff tears, glenohumeral osteoarthritis with an intact rotator cuff, acute proximal humerus fractures, the sequelae of proximal humerus fractures, neoplasms of the proximal humerus, inflammatory arthropathy, young patients and failed anatomic total shoulder arthroplasty and hemiarthroplasty. While long-term outcomes are pending, short- and mid-term follow-up results suggest that in experienced hands, RTSA may be a reasonable treatment for many previously difficult to treat pathologies within the shoulder.

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  1. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Washington University in Saint Louis, 660 South Euclid Avenue, Campus Box 8233, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA

    Peter N. Chalmers & Jay D. Keener

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  1. Peter N. Chalmers
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Correspondence to Peter N. Chalmers.

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Peter N. Chalmers declares that he has no conflict of interest.

Jay D. Keener reports consultant fees from Arthrex and grants from National Institutes of Health, outside the submitted work. He is on the board of the Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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The work for this manuscript was performed at Washington University Medical Center in Saint Louis, MO.

This article is part of the Topical Collection on Shoulder Arthroplasty

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Chalmers, P.N., Keener, J.D. Expanding roles for reverse shoulder arthroplasty. Curr Rev Musculoskelet Med 9, 40–48 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12178-016-9316-0

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