Author(s)

Tony Farrell, Ciaran McDonald, John Lunn, Muiris Kennedy

Orthopaedic Department, Midlands Regional Hospital, Tullamore, Ireland.

Aims: To evaluate the short term functional outcomes following a reverse total shoulder replacement for complex neck of humerus fractures. Methods: A single centre retrospective case series evaluating all patients who underwent reverse shoulder arthroplasty following a complex neck of humerus fracture. Functional shoulder movements were assessed by two orthopaedic trainees at 1 year follow-up and compared to the opposite shoulder. Subjective assessment was measured using the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) score and the Oxford Shoulder Score (OSS). Documentation of any complications was also noted. Findings: The reverse total shoulder replacement showed favourable outcomes both subjectively and objectively. Subjectively patients in this study scored a mean of 27.5 +/- 24.4 (range 0 - 57.8) in the DASH and 37.9 +/- 9.2 (range 26 - 48) in the OSS. There was a high negative linear correlation between the 2 scoring systems (r = -0.95, p < 0.05) indicating moderate to good shoulder function in most cases. The objective data also showed good functional outcomes with all patients having clinically similar function between the injured and uninjured limb. Conclusion: A reverse total shoulder replacement shows favourable subjective and objective outcomes for complex neck of humerus fractures in the trauma setting.

Reverse Total Shoulder, Replacement, Trauma, Proximal Humerus, Fracture

Farrell, T. , McDonald, C. , Lunn, J. and Kennedy, M. (2018) Functional Outcome Following Reverse Total Shoulder Replacement in the Setting of Trauma with Minimum 1 Year Follow-Up. Open Journal of Orthopedics, 8, 290-304. doi: 10.4236/ojo.2018.87032.