An innovative surgical procedure that offers hope for people with debilitating shoulder injuries is available at JFK Medical Center. Called reverse shoulder replacement, it’s an operation that can provide major relief, especially for older patients like Perry Barsky, 84, whose shredded rotator cuff had led several surgeons to tell him there was no remedy for his problem.

Performed at JFK Medical Center by Dr. Howard Routman, a pioneer in the field, the shoulder replacement is done in reverse of a typical shoulder replacement: The surgeon puts a socket where the ball was and a ball where the socket was. A titanium stem is implanted in the upper arm and attaches a cobalt chrome ball to the scapula, where the socket used to be.

Barsky is now back to playing racquetball and says he has no pain and his shoulder feels as good as new. Most reverse shoulder operations are performed only on older patients in their 70s and early 80s, because surgeons are unsure about how long the implant will last. 

Dr. Routman notes, “I have seen patients with arms so immobilized that they suffer infections in their armpits – they can’t lift their arms to clean themselves. This is a tremendous salvage procedure.” He notes patients who consider the reverse shoulder replacement have been suffering for years.

People with less severe shoulder problems are better served by traditional replacements, although they are still rare in comparison to hip and knee replacements. According to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, surgeons performed 542,000 knee replacements and 231,000 hip replacements in 2006, but only 15,000 shoulder replacements.

Even before the procedure received FDA approval in 2004, Dr. Routman was involved in its testing, and surgeons worldwide have traveled to watch him perform this relatively new surgery.

Most recently, a shoulder specialist from Brazil traveled to JFK to observe Dr. Routman’s reverse shoulder replacement surgery on 71-year-old Maurice Pitilon who had suffered with shoulder pain since an injury in 1987. A few short weeks after surgery, Mr. Pitilon, pain-free for the first time in decades, noted, “This is the best thing that’s happened to me in the last 20 years.”

If you feel you may be a good candidate for the reverse shoulder replacement procedure or would like more information, call our Consult-A-Nurse at 1-866-4-HCA-DOCS (866-442-2362).