Shoulder & Elbow Archive

SUMMARY: In 55 patients aged 60+ with complex proximal humerus fractures, reverse shoulder arthroplasty gave reliable recovery: good Oxford scores, early independence, return to driving in 8-12 weeks, and a 5.5% complication rate.

SUMMARY: In 67 intra-articular distal humerus fractures, older patients had more distal transverse and more lateral longitudinal fracture lines, which may limit distal lateral fixation with a tab-equipped posterolateral plate.

SUMMARY: In a cadaveric Neer IIB distal clavicle fracture model, anatomical conoid-position suture button reconstruction gave better posterior stability than anterior-position drilling without sacrificing superior stability; clinical relevance of the 1.8 mm difference remains unproven.

SUMMARY: A 2004 J Shoulder Elbow Surg paper reporting minimum fifteen-year follow-up of Neer hemiarthroplasty and total shoulder arthroplasty in patients aged fifty or younger, addressing long-term durability of arthroplasty in young patients.

SUMMARY: Capitellar OCD affects young athletes aged 10-24; MRI or CT beats radiographs for diagnosis, stable lesions with intact cartilage get non-operative care, and surgical options are chosen by patient, function, and lesion morphology.

SUMMARY: Kim's lesion, an incomplete posteroinferior labral-glenoid tear with intact superficial labrum, is an under-reported cause of posterior shoulder pain and instability in young athletes, confirmed arthroscopically and fixed arthroscopically if nonoperative care fails.

SUMMARY: The 2025 international consensus reached agreement on all 25 shoulder PJI prevention questions, favoring practices like avoiding recent corticosteroid injection and razor shaving, but shoulder-specific evidence remains thin for many interventions.

SUMMARY: In 139 dissatisfied shoulder arthroplasty patients, stiffness, glenoid loosening, component malposition, and tuberosity nonunion were common, and revision rates underestimated failure, suggesting attention to positioning, motion, and tuberosity fixation.

SUMMARY: This review explains how lateral offset in reverse shoulder arthroplasty trades off glenoid shear and deltoid force against impingement, notching, and range of motion, with several factors guiding how much lateralization to choose.

SUMMARY: Meta-analysis of 8 studies (518 patients) found no significant short- or mid-term pain difference between PRP and corticosteroid injections for subacromial impingement, though heterogeneity was high; choose by cost, availability, and patient preference.

SUMMARY: In 33 distal humerus fractures fixed via the TRAP approach without postoperative immobilization, early passive motion at 48 hours gave acceptable function and preserved triceps strength, with no triceps rupture or implant failure.

SUMMARY: In 35 surgically treated coronal shear fractures of the distal humerus, medial trochlear involvement on CT predicted worse elbow extension and more bone-related complications, which standard classifications missed, so it may help surgical planning.

SUMMARY: This review covers rehabilitation of elbow instability, emphasizing anatomy-based, surgeon-therapist coordinated programs that allow early motion within a safe arc while preserving joint stability.

SUMMARY: Seven psychologically loaded WOSI items correlated strongly with outcome scores after shoulder stabilization, and two items (15 and 17) tracked function and motion, suggesting a quick recovery screen.

SUMMARY: Economic model over 5 years finds adding biceps tenodesis to rotator cuff repair is cost-effective (ICER $13,064/QALY), favored in about 89% of simulations despite higher upfront cost.

SUMMARY: In 500 elbows with lateral epicondylitis, the resisted anterior drawer test showed 96% sensitivity and 82% specificity for MRI-defined lateral elbow instability, suggesting it is a useful screening maneuver pending prospective confirmation.

SUMMARY: In 88 young children followed about 9 years, latissimus dorsi (with or without teres major) transfer for brachial plexus birth injury durably improved shoulder abduction, external rotation, and flexion, with few revisions.

SUMMARY: In human tissue and a mouse overuse model, the succinate-SUCNR1 axis drove rotator cuff tendon degeneration and weakness, and blocking it protected tendon strength, suggesting a possible future strategy to reduce retears.

SUMMARY: In 97 BIO-RSA patients, a smaller shift in center of rotation from preoperative to prosthetic was weakly associated with better abduction and forward flexion, but not pain or function scores.

SUMMARY: In 42 reverse shoulder arthroplasties after failed cuff surgery, pseudoparalytic shoulders improved markedly in elevation, but results were inferior to primary RSA and painful shoulders with preserved elevation fared worse.

SUMMARY: In 80 reverse shoulder arthroplasties followed at least five years, prosthesis survival was 91% at 10 years but function declined; use should be limited to disabling cuff-tear arthropathy in low-demand patients over 70.

SUMMARY: Review of proximal humerus bone loss in reverse shoulder arthroplasty, especially revision, covering its effects on stability and deltoid function and options from long stems and allograft composites to endoprostheses and custom 3D-printed implants.

SUMMARY: Review of bicolumnar distal humerus fracture management, covering ORIF, total elbow arthroplasty, and hemiarthroplasty for nonreconstructable fractures, and ongoing controversies over approach, ulnar nerve handling, and fixation constructs.

SUMMARY: In 200 primary reverse shoulder arthroplasties, CT-based adipose-to-muscle and soft tissue-to-bone ratios, like BMI, did not predict surgical time, in-hospital complications, or 90-day ED return; prior ED visits and anxiety were stronger risk factors.

SUMMARY: In aged rats, blocking the STING inflammatory pathway with H-151 at the repair site reduced inflammaging and improved tendon-to-bone healing and biomechanical strength, suggesting a possible adjunct for rotator cuff repair in older patients.

SUMMARY: In geriatric blunt trauma, isolated scapular fracture does not predict great vessel injury, but combined scapular and sternal fractures do (aOR 1.42), especially subclavian, warranting a low threshold for CT angiography.

SUMMARY: Reviews how coordinated scapula, clavicle, and humerus motion supports throwing, how scapular dyskinesis promotes internal impingement, and why evaluation should be systematic and include proximal and distal contributors.

SUMMARY: This case report describes a 68-year-old with recurrent anterior radial head dislocation after Monteggia-variant fixation, resolved with temporary radioulnar K-wire transfixation plus biceps botulinum toxin, regaining near-full motion without instability by 11 weeks.

SUMMARY: Review of acute DRUJ instability, usually from high-energy trauma with distal radius or radial head fractures, noting outcomes depend on anatomic reduction and restored DRUJ and PRUJ stability, with or without ligament repair.

SUMMARY: Technical note describing an arthroscopic accessory anterior trans-subscapularis portal for bony Bankart fixation that gives good anteroinferior glenoid access while staying a safe distance from the axillary nerve.