Reverse shoulder arthroplasty
Reverse shoulder arthroplasty, another term for reverse shoulder replacement, addresses shoulder joint problems that a standard primary total shoulder replacement can’t. It’s called reverse because instead of re-creating the ball-and-socket joint in which the top of the arm bone (humerus) serves as the ball that fits into the socket of the shoulder (glenoid), the socket is created at the top of the humerus and the ball is anchored into what had been the shoulder socket. In situations where a primary shoulder replacement cannot sufficiently address your shoulder injury, your doctor may recommend a reverse shoulder arthroplasty to help reduce pain and restore some of the motion you’ve lost.2
For more than 30 years, doctors have studied the benefits of reverse shoulder arthroplasty. Stryker offers multiple solutions for reverse shoulder replacement. Stryker designed the ReUnion RSA (reverse shoulder arthroplasty) as an alternative for cases where rotator cuff muscles may be weak or have torn, and total shoulder arthroplasty may not be a sufficient solution. Stryker also offers Tornier Flex with a convertible short stem, which provide more options when planning for reverse shoulder replacement.
Advances in technology continue to influence the tools available to orthopaedic surgeons. In fact, doctors can now plan reverse shoulder replacement surgery with Stryker’s proprietary Blueprint software to match the implant and surgical specifics to the patient. For use with Blueprint, Stryker designed the Shoulder iD Primary Reversed Glenoid to replace the shoulder joint in order to relieve pain and to improve mobility. With Shoulder iD, the orthopaedic surgeon can perform a “virtual” shoulder replacement before the actual surgery using Blueprint and the patient’s CT scan images. Blueprint allows the surgeon to visualize the patient’s native shoulder anatomy in a three-dimensional space; in that virtual space, the surgeon can plan the size and position of the implant materials and make provisions for the unique anatomy of the patient.
