PRECLINICAL ASSESSMENT OF ANATOMICAL SHOULDER REPLACEMENT: THE TRUTH ABOUT THE HUMERAL HEAD

Total shoulder replacement (TSR) has been shown to provide predictable pain relief and functional improvement in patients with glenohumeral degenerative arthritis and an intact rotator cuff. Greater knowledge of normal anatomy and biomechanics has accelerated the development of a third generation of shoulder replacements, which will hopefully provide better results. The most important recent improvements in TSR address the variability of head-shaft angles and humeral head offset. From the first to the third generation of prosthesis design, the humeral head component is modelled as a portion of a sphere.