Arthra

Shoulder arthritis is an affliction facing millions of Americans, but one treated very differently than similar situations in the knee and hip. We frequently hear about knee and hip substitution, but very rarely do doctors suggest that patients undergo a substitution of the shoulder. Primarily here is a lack of expertise that causes this, but it has also been cited that shoulder surgery has more risk involved.

But, this common assumption may require rethinking. A recent study by the Johns Hopkins Department of Orthopedics led by Doctor Edward McFarland, MD, director of the division of adult orthopedics at Johns Hopkins Hospital analyzed a series of hip substitution versus knee substitution versus shoulder substitution procedures. With looking at how the patients fared as a result of the surgery, researchers concluded that total shoulder substitution was just as safe and effective as other types of joint substitution.

But, the reality is that shoulder substitution is seen as drastically uncommon than other types of joint substitution. According to a nationwide 2003 Medicare figure, 6700 people had shoulder joints replaced that year compared with 107,000 hip replacements and nearly 200,000 knee replacements. If it really is just as safe and effective, than arthritic shoulders have been dealt a terrible hand up to this point.

But even brighter news came from the study. Fascinatingly, patients in the study who had shoulder surgery had far fewer in hospital post-surgical complications compared to those who had their hips and knees replaced – complications that often include a risk of death. Additionally, researchers found the shoulder substitution surgery (also called arthroplasty) to be much less pricey compared to replacements of the knee and hip. Shoulder replacements total cost on average were just over $10,000 where hip substitution was $15,000 and knee substitution was nearly $15,000.

With everything that was revealed by the John Hopkins’ study, the instances of shoulder substitution surgery must increase in evaluation to knee and hip substitution. Not only is such surgery cheaper, it is arguably more effective. 99% of people who have had shoulder substitution for arthritis notice pain relief and say they wish they would have done it sooner. With millions of Americans facing arthritis in the shoulder, such effective procedures must be more widely provided.