Implant Helps Relieve Shoulder Pain
For people with severe shoulder pain caused by arthritis and rotator cuff damage, daily tasks such as brushing hair can be unbearable. A new reverse - shoulder implant can restore function and relieve pain in patients who in the past had few options.
The reverse-shoulder implant was designed to stabilize the damaged shoulder joint and preserve the bone. As the name implies, the implant is the opposite of conventional replacement surgery, in which the surgeon replaces the ball of the shoulder with a metal prosthesis and the socket with a plastic devise.
With a reverse implant, the surgeon puts a stem in the arm bone and instead of having a ball we now have a socket, and a ball is placed where the old socket was. The result is a more stable, functional shoulder.
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The surgery is performed under general anesthesia and is covered by most insurance policies. Patients typically spend 2 to 3 days in the hospital and area able to return to normal activities within a few months.
Only about 150 surgeons nationwide have been trained to perform the procedure. According to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, 23,000 patients nationwide underwent shoulder replacement surgery last year. This procedure accounts for 10-20% of that number of shoulder implants.
This new procedure could help a group of patients that in the past would have lived with pain. The problem of arthritis and pain in the rotator cuff deficient shoulder has long been a problem with few solutions. This procedure represents an exciting new treatment that will hopefully give these patients long term pain relief and improved function.