Management of Painful Shoulder Arthroplasty: A Narrative Review

A reduced scapulo-humeral angle contributes to the development of scapular notching in reverse total shoulder arthroplasty

PURPOSE

Scapular Notching (SN) is one of the most common postoperative complications for a patient after Reverse Total Shoulder Arthroplasty (RTSA). Despite employing various strategies to mitigate SN risk, the overall incidence remains far from zero. This article introduces a new risk factor, the scapulo-humeral angle (SHA), as a key element influencing the risk for SN.

METHODS

A retrospective analysis was conducted on all patients who underwent RTSA for rotator cuff arthropathy at the study centre. The preoperative SHA was measured, and the presence of SN was investigated and graded using the Nerot classification at the latest follow-up.

RESULTS

42 patients were included. 12 presented SN (incidence 28.5%). A statistically significant Pearson coefficient correlation between pre-operative SHA and the incidence of SN was observed (r= -0.6954; 95% C.I. -0,8250 to -0,4963; p < 0.0001). A statistically significant Pearson coefficient correlation was also found between the degree of SN and the pre-operative SHA (r= -0,7045; 95% C.I. -0,8306 to -0,5096; P value (two-tailed) < 0,0001, alpha 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

The primary finding is a statistically significant correlation between a reduced preoperative SHA and an increased incidence of postoperative SN. The secondary finding is that a smaller preoperative SHA is associated with a more severe degree of SN A SHA cut-off of 50° distinguished patients at high risk of SN from those at low risk. All patients with an SHA below 50° developed SN (10/10), whereas only 6.25% of patients with an SHA exceeding 50° experienced SN (2/32).

The subcoracoid distance is correlated with pain and internal rotation after reverse shoulder arthroplasty

Background

A proposed etiology of anterior shoulder pain and limited internal rotation after reverse shoulder arthroplasty (RSA) is impingement of the humeral component on the coracoid or conjoint tendon. The primary goal of this study was to investigate radiographic surrogates for potential coracoid or conjoint tendon impingement and their relationship to postoperative pain and internal rotation after RSA.

Methods

A retrospective review of a clinical registry was performed to identify patients with (1) primary RSA, (2) minimum 2-year clinical follow-up, and (3) satisfactory postoperative axillary lateral radiographs. The primary radiographic measurement of interest was the subcoracoid distance (SCD), defined as the distance between the posterior aspect of the coracoid and the anterior glenosphere. Additional measurements were as follows: anterior glenosphere overhang, posterior glenosphere overhang, native glenoid width, lateralization of glenosphere relative to the coracoid tip, lateralization shoulder angle, and distalization shoulder angle. The primary clinical outcome of interest was the 2-year postoperative Visual Analog Scale score. Secondary outcomes were (1) internal rotation (IR) defined by spinal level (IRspine), (2) IR at 90 degrees of abduction, (3) American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons score, (4) forward flexion, and (5) external rotation at 0 degrees of abduction. Linear regression analyses were used to evaluate the relationship of the various radiographic measures on the clinical outcomes of interest.

Results

Two hundred seventeen patients were included. There was a statistically significant relationship between the SCD and Visual Analog Scale scores: B = -0.497, P = .047. There was a statistically significant relationship between the SCD and IRspine: B = -1.667, P < .001. Metallic lateralization was also positively associated with improving IRspine; increasing body mass index was negatively associated. There was a statistically significant relationship between the SCD and IR at 90 degrees of abduction: B = 5.844, P = .034.

Conclusion

For RSA with a 135° neck shaft angle and lateralized glenoid, the postoperative SCD has a significant association with pain and IR. Decreasing SCD was associated with increased pain and decreased IR, indicating that coracoid or conjoint tendon impingement may be an important and potentially under-recognized etiology of pain and decreased IR following RSA. Further investigations aimed toward identifying a critical SCD to improve pain and IR may allow surgeons to preoperatively plan component position to improve clinical outcomes after RSA.

Total Shoulder Arthroplasty is associated With Less Pain and Better Functional Outcomes, but Humeral Head Resurfacing may be Preferred in Younger, Higher Demand Patients: A Short-Term Outcomes Study in Patients with Glenohumeral Osteoarthritis

Objectives

This study aimed to compare short-term outcomes following Total Shoulder Arthroplasty (TSA) and Humeral Head Resurfacing (HHR) in patients with glenohumeral osteoarthritis (GHOA).

Methods

A retrospective analysis included patients who had undergone either TSA or HHR for GHOA at a single institution. Baseline demographics, complications, range of motion (active forward flexion, FF and active external rotation, ER), visual analog scores (VAS), and Subjective Shoulder Values (SSV) were collected.

Results

A total of 69 TSA and 56 HHR patients were analyzed. More HHR patients were laborers (44% versus 21%, P=0.01). There were more smokers in the TSA group (25% versus 11%, P=0.04) and more cardiovascular disease in the HHR cohort (64% versus. 6%, p<0.0001). Postoperative FF was similar, but ER was greater in the HHR (47° ± 15°) vs. TSA group (40° ± 12°, P = 0.01). VAS was lower after TSA vs. HHR (median 0, IQR 1 versus median 3.7, IQR 6.9, p<0.0001), and SSV was higher after TSA (89% ± 13% vs. 75% ± 20% after HHR; p<0.0001). Post-operative impingement was more common after HHR (32% vs. 3% for TSA, p<0.0001). All other complications were equivalent.

Conclusion

While younger patients and heavy laborers had improved ER following HHR, their pain relief was greater after TSA. Decisions on surgical technique should be based on patient-specific demographic and anatomic factors.

Identifying the patient harms to include in an in silico clinical trial

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Clinical trials represent a crucial step in the development and approval of medical devices. These trials involve evaluating the safety and efficacy of the device in a controlled setting with human subjects. However, traditional clinical trials can be expensive, time-consuming, and ethically challenging. Augmenting clinical trials with data from computer simulations, so called in silico clinical trials (ISCT), has the potential to address these challenges while satisfying regulatory requirements. However, determination of the patient harms in scope of an ISCT is necessary to ensure all harms are sufficiently addressed while maximizing the utility of the ISCT. This topic is currently lacking guidance. The objective of this work is to propose a general method to determine which patient harms should be included in an ISCT for a regulatory submission.

METHODS

The proposed method considers the risk associated with the harm, the impact of the device on the likelihood of occurrence of the harm and the technical feasibility of evaluating the harm via ISCT. Consideration of the risk associated with the harm provides maximum clinical impact of the ISCT, in terms of focusing on those failure modes which are most relevant to the patient population. Consideration of the impact of the device on a particular harm, and the technical feasibility of modeling a particular harm supports that the technical effort is devoted to a problem that (1) is relevant to the device in question, and (2) can be solved with contemporary modeling techniques.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

As a case study, the proposed method is applied to a total shoulder replacement humeral system. With this framework, it is hoped that a consistent approach to scoping an ISCT can be adopted, supporting investment in ISCT by the industry, enabling consistent review of the ISCT approach across device disciplines by regulators, and providing maximum impact of modeling technologies in support of devices to improve patient outcomes.

A narrative review of non-infected painful total shoulder arthroplasty: evaluation and treatment

Background and Objective

The prevalence of shoulder arthroplasty has increased significantly over the past two decades outpacing both total hip and total knee arthroplasty. Total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA) has been shown to significantly improve function and pain in most patients, however, complications after shoulder arthroplasty have been reported to be greater than 10% in anatomic shoulder arthroplasty and 10-47% in reverse shoulder arthroplasty leading to a painful shoulder. As the number of performed primary shoulder arthroplasty increases, the incidence of painful total shoulders and the need for revision shoulder arthroplasty will see a similar trend. Management of post-operative shoulder arthroplasty pain and complications will be even more essential for the orthopedic surgeon in this growing population. Potential sources of pain after shoulder arthroplasty are variable and include infection, implant related complications, hematoma, nerve injury, rotator cuff failure, instability, fracture, among other less prevalent complications. Treatment options for the painful shoulder arthroplasty differ depending on the source of pain, thus early identification of the cause will lead to expedited and appropriate definitive management. The objectives of this narrative review are to highlight the common causes of pain after TSA, provide surgeons an algorithmic approach for working up the painful total shoulder, and discuss treatment options for each source of pain.

Methods

A database search of PubMed and Google Scholar was conducted including studies relating to painful shoulder arthroplasty evaluation, management, and treatment.

Key Content and Findings

This review presents an in-depth evaluation to the non-infected, painful shoulder arthroplasty, providing treatment options for each source with the goal of assisting practicing physicians in the management of painful post-operative shoulder arthroplasty.

Conclusions

With increasing numbers of TSA being performed, a thorough understanding of the potential complications and their treatments is essential. A systematic approach to working up the painful TSA can help identify the source of symptoms more readily. Knowledge of the common complications and their specific causes can help surgeons avoid the painful TSA. This knowledge will also help to successfully treat the painful TSA when it is inevitably encountered.

The painful shoulder arthroplasty: appropriate work-up and review of interventional pain treatments

Shoulder arthroplasty is a successful surgical procedure for several conditions when patients become refractory to conservative management modalities. Unfortunately, some patients experience persistent chronic pain after shoulder arthroplasty. These individuals should undergo a comprehensive evaluation by an orthopedic surgeon to determine whether structural pathology is responsible for the pain and to decide whether reoperation is indicated. At times, a surgical solution does not exist. In these circumstances, a thorough and specific plan for the management of persistent chronic pain should be developed and instituted. In this article, we review common reasons for persistent pain after shoulder arthroplasty and outline the evaluation of the painful shoulder arthroplasty. We then provide a thorough review of interventional pain management strategies. Finally, we hypothesize developments in our field that might provide better outcomes in the future for patients suffering with chronic intractable pain after shoulder arthroplasty.