"I was down to practically doing nothing," Smith said. "I couldn't even trim bushes in the yard because I didn't have any control of my right arm."
A traditional shoulder replacement failed. Then, his doctor suggested something new: reverse shoulder replacement. The normal ball and socket joint is replaced with implants that reverse the anatomy of the shoulder.
"The reverse shoulder replacement allows us to not only replace the joint that has become arthritic, but it puts the shoulder in a better mechanical position and changes the mechanics of the shoulder to allow people to elevate their arm," said Dr. Bryan Wall, an orthopedic surgeon at the Core Institute in Phoenix, Arizona.
The surgery works best for older patients who have chronic shoulder pain, longstanding rotator cuff tears and arthritis. It doesn't work for everyone -- there's a risk of patients dislocating the shoulder joint after surgery or loosening parts.
"The best thing is, whatever I do during the day, no matter what I do, I don't have any pain in my right arm," Smith said.
The surgery fixed Smith's shoulder so he could get back to doing his own fixing.
"I've worked pretty hard all my life," Smith added. "Now it's time to play."
Hitting the road to a pain-free and active retirement.
The reverse shoulder replacement surgery generally requires a two-day hospital stay and a four- to six-week recovery, plus post-surgical therapy to restore full range of motion. Dr. Wall says younger patients are generally not good candidates for the procedure because they tend to put extreme stress on the shoulder joint.
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