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Patient-Specific Implants in Severe Glenoid Bone Loss

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TAKE-HOME POINTS

  • With the increasing number of arthroplasties performed, and the expanding indication for shoulder arthroplasty, the number of revision shoulder arthroplasties is also increasing.
  • Complex glenoid bone defects are sometimes encountered in revision shoulder arthroplasties.
  • Glenoid reconstructions with bone graft have reported encouraging short- to mid-term results, but the high number of complications is a concern.
  • Using the CAD/CAM technology patient-specific glenoid components have been created to reconstruct the glenoid vault in cases of severe glenoid bone loss.
  • Short-term clinical and radiographic results of patient-specific glenoid components are encouraging, however longer-term follow-up are needed to confirm the efficacy of this type of reconstruction.

Total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA) is an effective operation for providing pain relief and improving function in patients with end-stage degenerative shoulder disease that is nonresponsive to nonoperative treatments.1-4 With the increasing number of arthroplasties performed, and the expanding indication for shoulder arthroplasty, the number of revision shoulder arthroplasties is also increasing.5-14 Complex glenoid bone deformities present the treating surgeon with a complex reconstructive challenge. Although glenoid bone loss can be seen in the primary setting (degenerative, congenital, and post-traumatic), severe glenoid bone loss is encountered mostly in revision TSAs.

Historically, patients with severe glenoid bone loss were treated with a hemiarthroplasty.15-17 However, due to inferior outcomes associated with the use of shoulder hemiarthroplasties compared with TSA in these cases,18-20 various techniques were developed with the aim of realigning the glenoid axis and securing the implants into the deficient glenoid vault.21-25 Options have included eccentric reaming, glenoid reconstruction with bone autografts and allografts, and more recently augmented components and patient-specific implants. Studies with eccentric reaming and reconstruction with bone graft during complex shoulder arthroplasty have reported encouraging short- to mid-term results, but the clinical and radiographic outcomes remain inconsistent, and the high number of complications is a concern.25-28

Complications with these techniques include component loosening, graft resorption, nonunion, failure of graft incorporation, infection, and instability.25-28

Computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) of patient-specific implants have been used successfully by hip arthroplasty surgeons to deal with complex acetabular reconstructions in the setting of severe bone loss. More recently, the same technology has been used to reconstruct the glenoid vault in cases of severe glenoid bone loss.

In this article, we describe a patient-specific glenoid implant, its indication, and both technical aspects and the surgical technique, based on the authors’ experience as well as a review of the current literature on custom glenoid implants.

Continue to: PATIENT-SPECIFIC GLENOID COMPONENT