Reverse Shoulder Arthroplasty for the Treatment of Irreparable Rotator Cuff Tear without Glenohumeral Arthritis

BACKGROUND:The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the indications for, and outcomes of, reverse shoulder arthroplasty in patients with massive rotator cuff tears but without glenohumeral arthritis. METHODS:From December 1998 to December 2006, sixty-nine patients (seventy-two shoulders) were managed with reverse shoulder arthroplasty for the treatment of irreparable rotator cuff dysfunction without glenohumeral arthritis. The indications for reverse shoulder arthroplasty were persistent shoulder pain and dysfunction despite a minimum of six months of nonoperative treatment, the presence of at least a two-tendon tear, and Hamada stage-1, 2, or 3 changes in a patient for whom a non-arthroplasty option did not exist. Fifty-eight patients (sixty shoulders) had a minimum of two years of follow-up. Thirty-four shoulders had had no previous surgery (Group A), and twenty-six shoulders had had at least one previous surgical procedure (Group B). Postoperatively, patients were prospectively followed both clinically and radiographically. Survival analysis was performed, with the end points being removal or revision of the implant, radiographic loosening, and declining American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons score. RESULTS:Common characteristics of patients managed with reverse shoulder arthroplasty in this study were pain and (1)