The moment you wake up we do a lot of work with our hands every day that involves our shoulders. But the problematic part is we ignore lot problems associated with the shoulder joint. When we notice severe pain or stiffness in the shoulder joint, we hardly take notice to it. We try a lot conventional treatments to treat the shoulder problem.
Shoulder replacement surgery also termed as shoulder arthroplasty is suggested only when non-surgical treatments fail to improve the condition. It is one of the most successful procedure in recent times for treating the severe pain and joint stiffness often results in the end-stage of various forms of shoulder arthritis or degenerative diseases of the shoulder joint.
A Shoulder replacement surgery is a surgical procedure done to repair the damaged parts of the shoulder joint which are replaced with artificial components, also known as prosthesis. The procedure involves the replacement of various parts such as just the head of the humerus bone (ball) or replacement of both the humerus bone and the socket.
There are several conditions that lead to consider shoulder joint replacement surgery. Painful shoulder arthritis is one such common condition that damages smooth cartilage in the shoulder joint. This cartilage is responsible for smooth movement of the ball and socket against one another. The damage of cartilage results in a “bone on bone” joint, which is quite painful and requires shoulder surgery. Some other conditions include:
- Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease that results in wear-and-tear of cartilage inside the shoulder joint)
- An acute shoulder injury such as a rotator cuff tears
- Shoulder fracture that triggers long-term damage
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Ankylosing spondylitis
- Avascular necrosis
- Damaged rotator cuff muscles
- Failure of previous shoulder replacement surgery
An orthopaedic surgeon will perform the shoulder replacement surgery replacing the degenerated or damaged part of your shoulder joint with artificial implants made of metal or plastic. The type of shoulder surgery depends on the degree of damage to the joint. There are different types of shoulder replacement surgeries which include:
Total shoulder replacement: It is the most common type which is also termed as traditional shoulder arthroplasty. The surgical procedure involves replacing both ball-and-socket surfaces of the shoulder with similarly shaped artificial implants.
Partial shoulder replacement: It is medically termed as stemmed hemiarthroplasty. During a partial shoulder replacement, only the damaged humeral head of the arm is replaced with a prosthetic ball without harming the natural socket.
Reverse shoulder replacement: It is suggested when you have a rotator cuff tear and not eligible for traditional shoulder replacement. The ball at the top of the upper arm bone is replaced with a socket-shaped prosthetic, while a prosthetic ball is attached to shoulder’s natural socket.
A shoulder replacement surgery is a major surgery requires a few days of hospital stay. At Health Valley Hospital, we treat our patients with utmost care. We guide them before surgery to build self-confidence and with post-surgical instructions for faster recovery.
After the surgery, you may need to spend 2 to 5 days in the hospital. There will be swelling and pain that can be managed by pain medication. Your arm will be wrapped in a brace to control its movement. Within a day or so, physical therapy will be started to get your new shoulder working. A physical therapist will suggest some exercises for some weeks which will gradually improve the range of motion of the new joint. It may takes a few weeks to months before you resume to normal activities.
In a year, you’ll have some follow-up visits, So that the doctor can get to know how your recovery is going. For more information consult Dr. Sandeep Prasad, one of the best shoulder surgeon in Hyderabad at Health Valley Hospitals.
