Basic Science
Reverse total shoulder arthroplasty component center of rotation affects muscle function

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Background

Medialization of the glenohumeral center of rotation alters the moment arm of the deltoid, can affect muscle function, and increases the risk for scapular notching due to impingement. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of position of the glenosphere on deltoid efficiency and the range of glenohumeral adduction.

Methods

Scapulohumeral bone models were reconstructed from computed tomography scans and virtually implanted with primary or reverse total shoulder arthroplasty implants. The placement of the glenosphere was varied to simulate differing degrees of “medialization” and inferior placement relative to the glenoid. Muscle and joint forces were computed during shoulder abduction in OpenSim musculoskeletal modeling software.

Results

The average glenohumeral joint reaction forces for the primary total shoulder arthroplasty were within 5% of those previously reported in vivo. Superior placement or full lateralization of the glenosphere increased glenohumeral joint reaction forces by 10% and 18%, respectively, relative to the recommended reverse total shoulder arthroplasty position. The moment arm of the deltoid muscle was the highest at the recommended baseline surgical position. The baseline glenosphere position resulted in a glenohumeral adduction deficit averaging more than 10° that increased to more than 25° when the glenosphere was placed superiorly. Only with full lateralization was glenohumeral adduction unaffected by superoinferior placement.

Discussion/Conclusion

Selecting optimum placement of the glenosphere involves tradeoffs in bending moment at the implant-bone interface, risk for impingement, and deltoid efficiency. A viable option is partially medializing the glenosphere, which retains most of the benefits of deltoid efficiency and reduces the risk for scapular notching.

Section snippets

Construction of bone geometry

In a previous study, computed tomography (CT) scans were obtained from cadaveric shoulder specimens (N = 40) and segmented by the commercially available software Mimics (Materialise, Leuven, Belgium).12 The 3-dimensional CT reconstructions were validated by physical measurements and surgical reconstruction. Differences between physical measurements made on cadaveric specimens and virtual measurement on 3-dimensional CT reconstructions ranged from 0.7 to 2.7 mm. In addition, cadaveric

Results

The glenohumeral joint reaction force for the primary total shoulder arthroplasty condition at 90° of abduction was 66% body weight and was within 5% of the force reported in vivo with use of an instrumented shoulder prosthesis (Fig. 3, A).1 This result supported the validity of our rigid-body dynamics approach for predicting shoulder forces. Simulating the RTSA condition, using recommended placement to medialize the center of rotation, and placing the glenosphere at the inferior margin of the

Discussion

The rationale for the RTSA design is to convert the glenohumeral joint into a more stable ball-and-socket joint. This design facilitates shoulder abduction without requiring a functioning rotator cuff. However, surgical recommendations for glenosphere placement are conflicting. Medializing the center of rotation is recommended to reduce the bending moment at the implant-bone interface. On the other hand, lateralizing the center of rotation is proposed to reduce laxity of the external rotators,

Conclusion

Our study quantifies the tradeoffs in selecting optimum placement of the glenosphere in RTSA. Medialization does reduce the bending moment at the implant-bone interface but requires inferior placement to reduce the risk for impingement and scapular notching. Lateralization with a bone graft can reduce the risk for impingement but carries the risk of higher bending moment at the host-graft interface (at least until healing). One viable option is partially medializing the glenosphere in RTSA,

Disclaimer

The authors, their immediate families, and any research foundation with which they are affiliated did not receive any financial payments or other benefits from any commercial entity related to the subject of this article.

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