Introduction. Reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (RTSA) is rapidly being adopted as the standard procedure for a growing number of shoulder arthropathies. Though short-term outcomes are promising, mid- and long-term follow-ups present a number of complications – among them, humeral stem and glenosphere component loosening. Though not the primary complication, previously reported aseptic loosening required revision in 100% of cases. As the number of patients undergoing RTSA increases, especially in the younger population, it is important for surgeons to identify and utilize prostheses with stable long-term fixation. It has previously been shown in the hip and knee literature that implant migration in the first two years following surgery is predictive of later failure due to loosening in the 5=10-year postoperative window. The purpose of this study is to, for the first time, evaluate the pattern and total magnitude of implant migration in reverse shoulder arthroplasty using the gold standard imaging technique radiostereometric analysis (RSA). Methods. Forty patients were prospectively randomized to receive either a cemented or press-fit humeral stem, and a glenosphere secured to the glenoid with either autologous bone graft or 3D printed porous titanium for primary reverse total shoulder arthroplasty. Following surgery, participants are imaged using RSA, a calibrated, stereo x-ray technique. Radiographs are acquired at 6 weeks (baseline), 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years. Migration of the humeral stem and glenosphere at each time point is compared to baseline. Migration of the prostheses is independently compared between humeral stem fixation groups and glenosphere fixation groups using a two-way repeated measures ANOVA with Tukey's test for multiple comparisons. Results. Follow-ups are ongoing and preliminary results are presented. Significant differences were observed at the 6-month and 1-year time points for superior-inferior translation (p = 0.0067, p = 0.0048), and total three-dimensional translation (p = 0.0011, p = 0.0272) between humeral stems, with press-fit humeral stems subsiding significantly more than cemented stems. Migration between the 6-month and 1-year time points was minimal for both stem fixation groups (less than 0.2 mm). No significant differences were observed along any axis at any time point for the glenosphere fixation groups. Conclusion. There is a trend towards increased subsidence with the use of press-fit stems compared to cemented stems in the first six months postoperatively, as is expected. Both implant fixation techniques demonstrate stability from six months through one year, and this trend is expected through two-year follow-up. Similarly, both glenosphere fixation techniques demonstrate immediate and stable fixation through one year

Introduction. Total shoulder arthroplasty is the fastest growing joint replacement in recent years, with projected compound annual growth rates of 10% for 2016 through 2021 – higher than those of both the hip and knee combined. Reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (RTSA) has gained particular interest as a solution for patients with irreparable massive rotator cuff tears and failed conventional shoulder replacement, for whom no satisfactory intervention previously existed. As the number of indications for RTSA continues to grow, so do implant designs, configurations, and fixation techniques. It has previously been shown that continuous implant migration within the first two years postoperatively is predictive of later loosening and failure in the hip and knee, with aseptic loosening of implant components a guaranteed cause for revision in the reverse shoulder. By identifying implants with a tendency to migrate, they can be eliminated from clinical practice prior to widespread use. The purpose of this study is to, for the first time, evaluate the pattern and magnitude of implant component migration in RTSA using the gold standard imaging technique radiostereometric analysis (RSA). Methods. Forty patients were prospectively randomized to receive either a cemented or press-fit humeral stem, and a glenosphere secured to the glenoid with either autologous bone graft or 3D printed porous titanium (Aequalis Ascend Flex, Wright Medical Group, Memphis, TN, USA) for primary reverse total shoulder arthroplasty. Following surgery, partients are imaged using RSA, a calibrated, stereo x-ray technique, at 6 weeks (baseline), 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years. Migration of the humeral stem and glenosphere at each time point is compared to baseline. Preliminary results are presented, with 15 patients having reached the 6-month time point by presentation. Results. Implant migration of ten participants at the 3-month time point is presented. Maximum total point motion (MTPM) is a measure of translation and rotation of the point on the implant that has moved the most from baseline. Average MTPM ± SD of the humeral stem is 1.18 ± 0.65 mm and 0.98 ± 0.46 mm for press-fit (n = 6) and cemented (n = 4) stems, respectively; and 0.25 ± 0.09 mm and 0.47 ± 0.24 mm for bone graft (n = 4) and porous titanium (n = 6) glenosphere fixations, respectively, at the 3-month time point. Conclusion. There is a trend towards increased migration with the use of press-fit humeral stems and porous titanium glenosphere fixation, though no conclusions can be made from the current sample size. Further, though differences in migration magnitude may be observed at early postoperative time points, it is expected that all fixation techniques will show stability from 1 to 2 years postoperatively

Introduction:. Studies have demonstrated both clinical and radiological success of reverse shoulder arthroplasty (RTSA), with follow-up approaching 10-years. To date, most RTSA studies involve cemented fixation of the humeral components, and most involving uncemented RTSAs have used implants not necessarily designed for bony ingrowth. Cementless fixation utilizing proximally porous-coated (PPC) femoral implants has shown long term survivorship approaching 99% at greater than 10-years follow-up in total hip arthroplasty. Currently, the number of commercially available PPC RTSA implants is steadily growing, but there has been no published study examining clinical and radiographic outcomes in PPC, press-fit humeral stems. We hypothesized that the clinical and radiographic results of uncemented RTSA utilizing a PPC humeral stem would be similar to cemented RTSA stems when followed for at least 2-years. Methods:. A prospective, IRB approved RTSA outcomes registry with 261 patients that underwent RTSA by one fellowship-trained orthopaedic surgeon between 2005 and 2008 was reviewed. Inclusion criteria were diagnosis of cuff tear arthropathy or severe rotator cuff deficiency refractory to all other treatments, and minimum 2-year clinical and radiographic follow-up. Exclusion criteria were proximal humeral fractures, glenohumeral instability, rheumatoid arthritis, incomplete follow-up, and revision arthroplasty. Outcome measures included active forward elevation (aFE), active external rotation (aER), active internal rotation (aIR), Constant-Murley score (CS), Subjective Shoulder Value (SSV), visual analogue scale (VAS) pain, and American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) score. Radiographs at 2 weeks, 3 months, 1 year, 2 years and yearly thereafter were evaluated for humeral component position, osteolysis, humeral component radiolucent lines (RLLs), stress shielding, and scapular notching. Statistical analysis was conducted by an independent institutional statistician. Results:. The cemented (n = 37) and uncemented (n = 64) cohorts demonstrated comparable age and gender. Average follow-up was 32.4 months in the uncemented group (range 23–52) and 37.0 months in the cemented group (range 23–70). Both cohorts demonstrated significant improvements from preoperative to most recent follow-up in CS, ASES score, SSV, VAS pain, aFE, and aIR (P < 0.05). The cemented cohort showed a significant improvement in aER (P < 0.01), but the uncemented cohort did not (P = 0.14). There was no significant difference when comparing the degree of improvement in any of these values between the cemented and uncemented cohorts (P > 0.05). Radiographically, there was no evidence of humeral component loosening, osteolysis, or component failure observed in either cohort at any time point. There was no significant difference (P = 1.0) in the incidence of humeral component RLLs between the cemented (n = 1) and uncemented (n = 2) cohorts. Stress shielding was observed in 5 uncemented shoulders and 0 cemented shoulders, however this was not significantly different (P = 0.15). There was no significant difference (P = 0.30) in the incidence of scapular notching between the cemented (n = 8) and uncemented (n = 10) cohorts. Conclusion:. Cementless fixation of a porous-coated RTSA humeral stem provides equivalent clinical and radiographic outcomes compared to cemented stems at minimum 2-year follow-up. With advantages such as decreased operative time, no risk of cement-related complications, and ease of revision, cementless fixation may provide several benefits over cemented fixation. Longer-term studies are needed comparing outcomes of cemented versus cementless RTSA