Reverse shoulder arthroplasty with a cementless short metaphyseal humeral prosthesis without a stem: survivorship, early to mid-term clinical and radiological outcomes in a prospective study from an independent centre

The use of reverse total shoulder arthroplasty has increased for the management of cuff-deficient glenohumeral joint arthritis and fractures. With bone preservation being a major target in reverse shoulder arthroplasty, metaphyseal humeral components without a stem were developed. The aim of this study is to present the survivorship, functional and radiological outcomes of a novel short metaphyseal prosthesis without a diaphyseal stem from an independent centre.

Clinical function and radiological features of patients undergoing stemless reverse shoulder arthroplasty were prospectively recorded. Patients’ demographics, indications for surgery, complications, functional and radiological assessment at the final follow-up as well as survivorship with the end point of revision for any reason were recorded.

Between 2009 and 2016, 36 patients received 37 reverse shoulder arthroplasties with the stemless Verso prosthesis. Mean age of the patients was 76.9 years. The most common indication for surgery was cuff tear arthropathy. Mean follow-up was 3 years (range 1–7 years). Oxford shoulder score improved from an average of 11 pre-operatively (range 2–19) to 44 post-operatively (range 29–48) (p < 0.0001). There was one case of a deep post-operative infection that needed washout, liner exchange with retention of the prosthesis. Radiographic analysis showed no lucencies, or stress shielding around the humeral or glenoid components. Constant score at the final follow-up was on average 63 (range 35–86). Activities of daily living with requirement for internal and external rotation score (ADLEIR) was on average 12 pre-operatively (range 0–27) and 31 post-operatively (range 18–36) (p < 0.0001). There was 100% survivorship of the prosthesis in this early to mid-term study.

This early to mid-term prospective study demonstrates excellent survivorship and radiological results of the Verso reverse shoulder replacement. It needs a simple reproducible technique, and the results have been replicated at an independent centre. This study underlines its survivorship in the early to mid-term and confirms lower incidence of complications such as instability, notching, loosening and the need for revision surgery. Most importantly, it conserves the humeral bone stock for revision arthroplasties in the future. Our results are similar to those of the currently published literature.