Total Shoulder Replacement Surgery

Total Shoulder Replacement is recommended when non-surgical treatments have provided minimal or no improvement of your symptoms. The goal of Total Shoulder Replacement is to relieve pain and restore shoulder mobility. The surgery is performed as an inpatient procedure, and you may expect to stay in the hospital a day or two following your surgery. You will either require general anesthesia or a regional nerve block for the procedure. There are a few different types of shoulder replacement surgeries.

Total Shoulder Replacement Surgery is recommended for people with bone-on-bone Osteoarthritis and intact rotator cuff tendons. This is the most common type of shoulder replacement surgery. Our surgeons will make an incision, approximately six inches long, on the front of your shoulder joint. We will then replace the damaged head of the humerus with a highly polished metal ball. The metal ball may be surgically implanted in the humerus or attached with surgical cement, depending on the condition of the bone. The glenoid is replaced with a plastic socket.

In some cases, your surgeon may only replace the head of the humerus in a procedure called a Hemiarthroplasty. This procedure is used if the glenoid cartilage is in good condition. A Hemiarthroplasty is commonly used to treat shoulder fractures.

A Reverse Total Shoulder Replacement Surgery is recommended for people with completely torn rotator cuffs, severe arthritis with cuff tear arthropathy, or prior failed shoulder surgery. Traditional total shoulder replacement would still leave these individuals with pain and the inability to lift their arms above their shoulders. In a Reverse Total Shoulder Replacement Surgery, the ball and the socket are switched. The metal ball is attached to the scapula, and the socket is attached to the end of the humerus. This allows the deltoid muscles, instead of the damaged rotator cuff muscles, to lift the arm above the shoulder.

Another form of replacement is resurfacing Arthroplasty when the cartilage is removed from the humeral head and a metal “cap-like” prosthesis is placed over it.