Early clinical results of reverse total shoulder arthroplasty in the Korean population

Background: We evaluated the short-term clinical outcomes and compared the component's sizes of reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (RTSA) in Korean Population. Materials and methods: We performed an RTSA on 42 patients between December 2007 to February 2010. The mean age at surgery was 72.5±5.6 (10 men, 32 women) and average follow-up period was 24 months. Twenty-two cuff tears arthropathy, 15 irreparable massive rotator cuff tears with pseudoparalysis, 5 proximal humeral fractures, and 2 infection cases were included. We evaluated clinical outcomes and also the intra- and postoperative complications to determine if any of the complications were unique to the use of a RTSA in a Korean population. In the anatomic study, 92 uninjured shoulders of 92 patients were used for measuring the inferior glenoid size, and we compared the component's sizes of RTSA with those of the normal population. Results: The ASES (American Shoulder and Elbow), UCLA, and KS (Knee Society) scores significantly improved from preoperative 35 (0-63), 12 (5-27), and 39 (3-81) to postoperative 68 (37-95), 24 (16-35), and 68 (34-88), respectively (P<.05). Postoperative complications were seen in 20% and scapular notching 35%. Three patients required further surgery for shoulder dislocation, periprosthetic fracture, and stem loosening. In the anatomic study, mean radius of the inferior glenoid was 17.1±2.1 mm in male and 15.4±1.6 mm in female. Conclusion: The short-term clinical results of an RTSA in Korean population are excellent despite high complication rate. However, the size of the glenoid is sometimes smaller than the baseplate (29 mm diameter) in female patients. More adequate size of the glenoid component should be considered.