Reverse Total Shoulder Arthroplasty
Shoulder joints are the most mobile joints in the body and they are important to daily living. If major pain or movement difficulty occurs over an extended period of time, they can be warning signs of worn out shoulder joints. That being said, there are many treatment options for this condition, such as medication, physical therapy and, lastly, surgery. Surgery itself consist of many different techniques. For this article, we would like to discuss about what reverse total shoulder arthroplasty is and whom it is good for.
Reverse total shoulder arthroplasty use a shape that is curved in the opposite direction as a normal shoulder joint. Normally, a round artificial shoulder joint is attached to the original socket, and a plastic socket is used to attach to the humerus, with a metal socket base that is implanted into the cavity of the humerus. Additionally, the center of rotation of the joint is more toward the inner side than ordinary shoulder joints. These kinds of modifications allow patients with massive rotator cuff tears to be able to raise their arms by transforming the shearing force of the deltoid muscle into a compression force at the artificial joint. As a result, the patient can lift their arm via the new pivot at the artificial joint.
Who are suitable candidates for reverse total shoulder arthroplasty?
1. Patients with indications for reverse total shoulder arthroplasty.
2. Patients with cuff tear arthropathy.
3. Patients with symptomatic massive irreparable rotator cuff tear without deterioration of the shoulder joint but who experience immense pain, cannot lift the shoulders by more than 90 degrees whose symptoms do not improve after surgery.
4. Patients with normal function of the deltoid muscle and teres minor. This requires data from a physical examination performed by a medical professional or additional testing such as an electromyography.
5. Patients with sufficiently good glenoid quality for artificial joint attachment. A surgeon can assess this via plain x-ray and additional CT scans or MRI scans.
Furthermore, reverse total shoulder arthroplasty can also be prescribed for patients with other conditions like elderly patients with broken head of the humerus, or patients who require surgical correction for bone abnormalities, people with chronic rheumatoid shoulder joint inflammation with rotator cuff tears and patients who require surgery to correct prior shoulder replacement surgery.
Post-Surgery Care Tips
Patients require rehabilitation after surgery in order to allow their shoulder joints to return to work normally and to avoid locked joints and muscles. As such, we have to promote joint movements and strengthen the muscles surrounding the joints to restore normal physical function quickly through physical therapy or nutrition. In addition to the patient, a team of medical professionals and experts is extremely important to promoting swift recovery in the patient such that the patient can return to having the life they enjoyed before the surgery again.
You may find our specialist here at Orthopedic Institute, Phyathai 2 Hospital
Phyathai 2 Hospital
International Correspondence Center
Tel: +66-2617-2444 ext. 2020 or 2047 E mail: onestop@phyathai.com
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Phyathai 2 Cambodia
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