Guest Editorial by?Brian J. Cole, MD, and Chris Mellano, MD in?The American Journal of Orthopedics.
This issue of The American Journal of Orthopedics focuses?on the treatment of shoulder and elbow pathology?in 2014. Treatment of shoulder arthritis in young?or high-demand patients remains a significant challenge.?Total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA) for glenohumeral arthritis?can provide excellent pain relief and improved function?in elderly, lower demand patients. In younger or higher?demand patients, the long-term outcomeare less favorable?failure rates are higher, and revision surgery outcomes?are unpredictable. Sperling and colleagues1 reported?a survival rate of only 61% for TSA in patients younger?than 50 at 10-year follow-up. In addition, postarthroplasty?activity restrictions may be unacceptable for these younger,?active patients. Concerns about poor shoulder arthroplasty?durability and patient expectations of high activity have led
to considerations for nonarthroplastic surgical options for?shoulder arthritis in this patient population. [complete article]
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