Even when surgery on the shoulder joint becomes necessary, joint-preserving procedures such as arthroscopic interventions, tendon and labral reconstructions are always considered before proceeding with an artificial joint replacement. However, it is not uncommon—for both patients and sometimes even physicians—to view shoulder prostheses with unjustified skepticism. As a result, in our view, shoulder arthroplasty is often performed too late.
As with the knee, there are different types of shoulder joint replacements: The anatomical shoulder prosthesis is used in cases of shoulder osteoarthritis when the rotator cuff tendons are intact. The reverse shoulder prosthesis is used in advanced cases of shoulder osteoarthritis involving rotator cuff destruction (known as cuff tear arthropathy).
We use only highly advanced implant systems, many of which allow for bone-sparing short-stem implantation in suitable patients. Due to the complex anatomy of the shoulder joint, all shoulder prostheses at the Procelsio Clinic are implanted exclusively using preoperative 3D planning and patient-specific instrumentation (PSI) produced with 3D printing technology.
