JSES International (Jan 2024)

Stemless anatomic total shoulder arthroplasty is associated with less early postoperative pain

  • Brian C. Werner, MD,
  • M. Tyrrell Burrus, MD,
  • Patrick J. Denard, MD,
  • Anthony A. Romeo, MD,
  • Evan Lederman, MD,
  • Justin W. Griffin, MD,
  • Benjamin Sears, MD,
  • Anup Shah,
  • Asheesh Bedi,
  • Benjamin Sears,
  • Bradford Parsons,
  • Brandon Erickson,
  • Brian C. Werner,
  • Bruce Miller,
  • Christopher O'Grady,
  • Daniel Davis,
  • David Lutton,
  • Evan Lederman,
  • Joern Steinbeck,
  • John Tokish,
  • Julia Lee,
  • Kevin Farmer,
  • Mariano Menendez,
  • Matthew Provencher,
  • Michael Bercik,
  • Michael Kissenberth,
  • Patric Raiss,
  • Patrick J. Denard,
  • Peter Habermeyer,
  • Philipp Moroder,
  • Russell Huffman,
  • Samuel Harmsen,
  • Timothy Lenters,
  • Tyrrell Burrus,
  • Tyler Brolin,
  • Anthony Romeo,
  • R. Alexander Creighton,
  • Justin W. Griffin

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 8, no. 1
pp. 197 – 203

Abstract

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Background: Improvements in pain control after shoulder arthroplasty with a reduction in narcotic use continues to be an important postoperative goal. With the increased utilization of stemless anatomic total shoulder arthroplasty (aTSA), it is relevant to compare between stemmed and stemless arthroplasty to assess if there is any association between this implant design change and early postoperative pain. Methods: Patients from a multicenter, prospectively-maintained database who had undergone a stemless aTSA with a minimum of two year clinical follow-up were retrospectively identified. Patients who underwent aTSA with a short stem were identified in the same registry, and matched to the stemless aTSA patients by age, sex and preoperative pain score. The primary study outcome was the Visual Analog Scale pain score. Secondary pain outcomes were the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons shoulder pain subscore, Western Ontario Osteoarthritis of the Shoulder physical symptoms subscore, and the Single Assessment Numeric Evaluation score. Finally, the percentage of patients who could sleep on the affected shoulder was assessed for each group. These pain-related clinical outcomes were assessed and compared preoperatively, and postoperatively at 9 weeks, 26 weeks, one year and two years. For all statistical comparisons, P > .05 was considered significant. Results: 124 patients were included in the study; 62 in each group. At 9 weeks after surgery, statistically significantly improved pain control was reported by patients undergoing stemless aTSA, as assessed by the Visual Analog Scale (stemless: 1.5, stemmed: 2.5, P = .001), American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons pain subscore (stemless: 42.4, stemmed: 37.3, P < .001), Western Ontario Osteoarthritis of the Shoulder Physical Symptoms (stemless: 80.3, stemmed: 73.1, P = .006) and Single Assessment Numeric Evaluation (stemless: 58.1, stemmed: 47.4, P = .011). Patients who underwent a stemless aTSA were significantly more likely to be able to sleep on the affected shoulder at 9 weeks (29% vs. 11%, odds ratio 3.2, 95% confidence interval 1.2-8.4, P = .014). By 26 weeks postoperatively, there were no differences in all pain-specific outcomes. At two years postoperatively, patient-reported outcomes, range of motion, and strength measures were all similar between the two cohorts. Conclusion: Stemless aTSA provides earlier improvement in postoperative shoulder pain compared to matched patients undergoing short-stem aTSA. Additionally, earlier return to sleeping on the affected shoulder was reported in the stemless aTSA group. The majority of these differences dissipate by 26 weeks postoperatively and there were no differences in pain, patient-reported outcomes, range of motion or strength measures between stemless and short-stem aTSA at 2 years postoperatively.

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