For Rotator Cuff Deficiency, RSA Delivers Good Long-term Results

In a recent OrthoBuzz post about minimal-incision total hip arthroplasty, we observed that “it is the long-term results [of orthopaedic procedures] that really matter.” Along those lines, in the November 15, 2017 issue of The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery, Cuff et al. provide 10-year follow-up results of reverse shoulder arthroplasty (RSA) in patients with end-stage rotator cuff deficiency. The 5-year follow-up results were published in a 2012 JBJS article.

Forty-two of the original 96 shoulders were available for clinical follow-up at a minimum of 10 years. Here’s what the authors found:

• Patients retained their gains in total average preop-vs-postop ASES and SST scores.
• Survivorship (percentage of shoulders not requiring revision) was 90.7%.
• There was decreased range of shoulder motion in all planes between 5 and 10 years of follow-up, but there was no consistent trend of an increase in shoulder pain.

Cuff et al. attribute these positive and durable outcomes in part to the use of 5.0-mm peripheral locking screws for baseplate fixation, which they say “provided improved early fixation and allowed for osseous ingrowth into the baseplate.”