Complications in Anatomic Shoulder Replacement

In the last three decades, there has been exponential growth in the number of anatomic shoulder arthroplasties carried out for primary osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, avascular necrosis, proximal humeral fracture and even cuff tear arthropathy. There has been an even greater increase in numbers of the reverse shoulder arthroplasties performed for cuff tear arthropathy and complex humeral fractures. In comparison to hip and knee arthroplasty the number of shoulder replacements performed annually continue to rise. However, anatomic shoulder arthroplasty in comparison to total hip or knee replacement probably has lower survival rates together with a relatively high complication rate [1–7].