Alternative options to traditional shoulder replacement

Abstract

Many patients with glenohumeral arthritis are treated successfully with conventional unconstrained total shoulder arthroplasty. However, there exist subsets of patients that do not fare as well with conventional shoulder replacement techniques, such as in the case of the young patient with osteoarthritis, patients with focal humeral head lesions, and those with posttraumatic arthritis. Various open and arthroscopic techniques have been described for these conditions, and recent developments in treatment strategies have become of great interest to shoulder surgeons. Here we review such alternative surgical treatment options to traditional shoulder replacement for these patient subgroups.