Shoulder replacement surgery, or arthroplasty, can alleviate pain and stiffness. The orthopedic surgery team at Blessing has decades of experience performing this highly technical procedure.
Experience the Blessing Difference: Shoulder Replacement Surgery
When you come to Blessing for shoulder replacement surgery, you benefit from:
- Experienced specialists: Our Orthopedic Team has extensive experience working with athletes and active individuals of all ages.
- Comprehensive services: We offer a complete range of surgical procedures to treat various types of shoulder injuries. We also have many orthopedic rehabilitation options to help you regain mobility and function after treatment. All of the orthopedic care you need is available right here in Quincy.
- Exclusive treatments: We are one of the few centers in the tri-state region with the expertise to perform superior capsular reconstruction. This highly specialized procedure to treat a severely torn rotator cuff is a less invasive alternative to shoulder replacement surgery.
- Minimally invasive procedures: When possible, our orthopedic team uses minimally invasive surgical techniques, including arthroscopic repair. Thanks to smaller incisions and less cutting of muscle, you recover more quickly with less pain.
- Advanced pain management: We offer the latest pain management methods. These treatments reduce medication side effects while promoting a faster recovery and return to normal life.
- Care that focuses on you: At Blessing, we treat our patients like family. You see the same familiar, helpful faces at your appointments and throughout your course of treatment.
Do You Need Shoulder Replacement Surgery?
You may benefit from shoulder replacement surgery if you have one or more of these problems:
- Shoulder pain that is not controlled by over-the-counter pain medications
- Shoulder pain that persists despite nonsurgical treatments such as steroid injections
- Osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis in the shoulder
- Arthritis caused by a rotator cuff tear
- Bone death due to insufficient blood supply (avascular necrosis)
- Difficulty performing daily activities, like getting dressed or taking a shower
- Loss of motion or weakness in the shoulder
- Shoulder fracture
Visit joint replacement to learn how we diagnose shoulder joint damage.
Shoulder Replacement Surgery at Blessing
Your shoulder is a ball-and-socket joint. During shoulder replacement surgery, you can expect the following steps:
- Your doctor removes the damaged head, or ball, of your upper arm bone (humerus) and replaces it with a metal ball that is attached to a stem.
- The stem attaches to your upper arm bone.
- Your doctor resurfaces damaged parts of the shoulder socket (glenoid) with a plastic cap.
- The metal ball implant glides smoothly in the plastic socket.
- After surgery, you undergo orthopedic rehabilitation to regain shoulder strength and mobility.
- Because bone is no longer pressing against bone, you enjoy pain-free, upper body movement again.
Types of Shoulder Replacement Surgery
Blessing offers the following shoulder replacement surgeries:
- Total shoulder replacement: Your doctor replaces damaged parts of the upper arm bone (humerus) with a metal ball and stem and caps the shoulder socket with a plastic cover.
- Stemmed hemiarthroplasty: During this partial shoulder replacement surgery, your doctor replaces only the damaged part of the upper arm bone (humerus) with a metal ball and stem. The socket is not capped. Your doctor may perform this procedure if the shoulder socket is in good shape or if you have a severely torn rotator cuff or severe arthritis.
- Reverse total shoulder replacement: During this procedure, your doctor attaches a metal ball to the shoulder socket and a plastic cap to the head of the upper arm bone. Your doctor may recommend this procedure if you have a torn rotator cuff.
- Revision total shoulder replacement: Prosthetic shoulder implants last 10 to 20 years. Revision surgery occurs when your doctor replaces worn or loosened prosthetic implants with new ones.
An Alternative to Shoulder Replacement Surgery
Some rotator cuff tears are so severe that they cannot be fixed with standard surgery. At Blessing, you may be a candidate for an alternative procedure called superior capsular reconstruction.
During this procedure, your doctor sutures a patch of organ donor skin from the top of your upper arm bone (humerus) to the shoulder socket (glenoid). The skin patch keeps the ball of the upper arm bone in the shoulder socket.
Talk to your doctor to see if this procedure is right for you.