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Pathology of the long head of the biceps tendon is commonly associated with massive rotator cuff tears (MRCTs), which account for roughly one third of all rotator cuff tears. Treatment options for this condition include tenotomy, tenodesis, augmentation, and the use of the tendon as a graft for partial superior capsule reconstruction. Augmentation and superior capsular reconstruction are evolving techniques in the management of MRCTs. However, similar to the lack of consensus on the treatment of MRCTs, there are no clear guidelines for the management of concurrent biceps tendon pathology.

Background: Reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (rTSA) is an increasingly common procedure for proximal humerus fractures (PHFs), but postoperative complications have not been well characterized. The purpose of this systematic review is to assess complications and revision rates following rTSA in the management of PHFs as documented in current literature. Methods: A systematic review was performed on primary rTSA for PHFs. In adherence to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, a systematic search was conducted between September and December of 2023, utilizing the databases PubMed, Scopus, and the Cochrane Library to include relevant articles from any period. A total of 102 studies were identified for inclusion after initial screening of 3800 query results. Extracted data from each article included the publishing journal, level of evidence, study design, number of patients, mean age, age range, percent female, mean follow-up, specific postoperative complications, total complications, complication rate, number of revisions, and revision rate. Overall complication rates were determined by dividing total complications by total patients and multiplying by 100, which also applied to revision rates. Results: Among 10,797 primary rTSA cases for PHFs identified from 102 studies, the mean age of patients was 75.6 ± 3.6 years, and 82.6% of patients were female. The average follow-up was 38.9 ± 21.0 months. The overall complication rate was 7.0% (754/10,797) with a range of 0% to 46.9%. The most common postoperative complications were prosthetic instability/dislocation (2.3%, 244/10,797; range: 0%-7%) and infection (1.2%, 131/10,797; range: 0%-2.5%). Periprosthetic fracture (0.8%), nerve injury (0.3%), and other complications were also documented. The overall revision rate was 3.3% (355/10,797; range: 0%-28%). Conclusion: This systematic review summarizes the most common postoperative complications of rTSA for PHFs. The most frequent complication was prosthetic instability/dislocation, followed by infection. While the average total complication and revision rates were relatively low, there was wide variability, with some studies reporting rates as high as 46% and 28%, respectively.

Background: Excellent short-term outcomes after reverse shoulder arthroplasty (RSA) have been reported, but longer term outcomes in the existing literature are sparse and vary widely. The purpose of this study is to systematically assess the existing literature to quantify functional outcomes and complication rates after RSA at a minimum of five years of follow-up. Methods: A Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses-compliant systematic literature search of the PubMed and Embase databases was undertaken. Studies reporting outcomes after primary RSA for nontrauma-related indications with a minimum of 5-year follow-up were included. Results: Overall, 20 studies satisfied all inclusion criteria. This represented 1591 shoulders in 1556 patients (32.1% males), with a mean age of 70.2 ± 5.0 years and mean follow-up of 8.8 years, or 106.2 ± 30.1 months (60-243). At final follow-up, the mean reported Constant Murley score was 62.1 ± 5.0 (49.0-83.0). The mean adjusted Constant Murley score was 83.5 ± 12.5 (58-111.9). The mean American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons score was 81.8 ± 4.6, while the mean subjective shoulder value was 74.6 ± 6.4. Overall, 88% of patients rated their satisfaction as either good or very good. The range of active forward flexion, abduction, external, and internal rotation were respectively, 126° ± 13°, 106° ± 11°, 22° ± 11°, and 6° ± 2°. The overall rate of revision surgery was 4.9% (0%-45.5%). Regarding complications, the rate of prosthetic joint infection was 4.3% (0%-26.7%), shoulder dislocation was 3.7% (0%-20.4%), and acromial fracture was 2.0% (0%-8.8%). At final follow-up, 30.9% of shoulders had some degree of scapular notching. Conclusion: This systematic review shows that RSA results in high satisfaction rates, good clinical outcomes, as well as modest complication and revision rates at minimum 5-year follow-up.

Background: Different patient-reported outcome (PRO) tools are used in patients with arthroscopic rotator cuff repair (ARCR) which complicates outcome comparisons. The purpose of this systematic review was to compare PRO usage and baseline scores across world regions and countries in patients with ARCR of massive rotator cuff tears (MRCT). Methods: A systematic review was performed on ARCR for MRCT. The search was conducted from September to November of 2022 using the MEDLINE database for articles published in the last 15 years. Thirty-seven articles were included after initial screening and full-text review. In each article, PRO usage, baseline scores, and country of origin were collected. PRO usage was reported in percentages and baseline scores were normalized for each region to facilitate comparisons. Normalization was performed using the PRO means from each article. These averages were converted to fractions using the worst and best possible scores. These were combined into a single numerical value, expressed as a decimal from 0 to 1, using the total sample size for each tool per region. Values closer to 0 represent worse functional outcomes. Results: Thirty-two percent (n = 12) of articles were from Asia, 43.2% (n = 16) from Europe, 5.4% (n = 2) from the Middle East, and 18.9% (n = 7) from North America. The most commonly reported PRO tools were American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) in 19 papers, Constant–Murley Score (CMS) in 26 papers, Visual Analog Scale for pain (VAS) in 19 papers, and University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) in 11 papers. ASES was reported in 51% of articles with 63% being from Asia (n = 12) compared to 21% from North America (n = 4). CMS was reported in 70% of studies with 58% being from Europe. Upon normalization, the preoperative score ranged from 0.30 to 0.44. Europe (0.39), and North America (0.40) showed similar scores. The lowest and highest scores were seen in the Middle East (0.3) and Asia (0.44) respectively. Conclusion: There is no standardized method to report outcomes in patients undergoing ARCR for MRCT. Great variation in usage exists in PROs which complicates data comparison between world regions. With normalization, baseline scores where similar among Asia, North America, and Europe, and lowest in the Middle East.

Subscapularis integrity is correlated with function following shoulder arthroplasty. Failure of healing, particularly following anatomic total shoulder arthroplasty, is associated with poor outcomes and the need for revision. Graft augmentation has been used to increase healing following rotator cuff repair but has not been commonly advocated for augmenting the subscapularis following shoulder arthroplasty. The long head biceps tendon is typically tenodesed and discarded during shoulder arthroplasty. Rather than discarding the tendon, the tendon may be compressed and applied to the subscapularis as a biologic scaffold to potentially improve subscapularis healing following shoulder arthroplasty.

Background and hypothesis: The impact of preoperative fatty infiltration of specific rotator cuff muscles on the outcomes of reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (rTSA) has not been well defined. Preoperative fatty infiltration of the shoulder musculature will negatively affect rTSA outcomes. Methods: A comprehensive literature review was conducted as per the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses using PubMed, Embase, OVID Medline, Scopus, Cinahl, Web of Science, and Cochrane databases for original, English-language studies evaluating effect of fatty infiltration of shoulder musculature on rTSA outcomes published from January 1, 2000 to present. Blinded reviewers conducted multiple screens. All included studies were graded based on the level of evidence, and data concerning patient demographics and postoperative outcomes were extracted. Results: A total of 11 articles were included, including one level I article, three level III articles, and seven level IV articles. The review consisted of 720 patients and 731 shoulders (320 women and 157 men), with a mean age of 72.4 years. A single deltopectoral approach was performed for a majority of studies (627/731 shoulders), followed by a superolateral approach (70/731 shoulders) and a single transdeltoid approach (4/731 patients). Eleven studies reported data specifically about preoperative fatty infiltration of the rotator cuff musculature; the teres minor was studied most widely (298/731 shoulders), followed by the subscapularis (256/731 shoulders) and infraspinatus (232/731 shoulders). The Constant score (562/731 shoulders) and American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons score (284/731 shoulders) were the most common recorded outcome scores. Fatty infiltration of the teres minor, supraspinatus, and infraspinatus was associated with worse range of motion after rTSA. Conclusion: Preoperative fatty infiltration of the rotator cuff, particularly of the teres minor and infraspinatus, has a negative impact on subjective patient outcomes and restoration of range of motion, especially external rotation, after rTSA. The impact of fatty infiltration of the other rotator cuff muscles remains unclear, which may be due to intersurgeon differences in the handling of the remaining rotator cuff muscles or differences in implant design. The evaluated literature provides information on which patients can be educated about probable outcomes and restoration of function after rTSA.

Reverse shoulder arthroplasty (RSA) leads to improvement in pain and function with a durable outcome in most cases. While improvement in forward flexion and to a lesser degree external rotation is predictably seen after RSA, restoration of internal rotation (IR) is much less predictable. The purpose of this review was to provide a narrative of the modifiable factors, including prosthetic design and surgical factors, that may impact postoperative IR after RSA. Overall, the available data suggest that postoperative IR is improved with a lower humeral neck shaft angle and lateralization of the glenoid. Decreasing humeral retroversion to 20° or less improves IR at the cost of decreasing active external rotation. Increasing glenosphere diameter improves IR but often within the setting of additional variables. The association between subscapularis repair is less clear but overall suggests that IR is improved postoperatively when it is repaired.