[Reverse total shoulder arthroplasty for the treatment of old fracture of proximal humerus in elderly patients].

Objective: To investigate clinical results of reverse total shoulder arthroplasty in treating old fracture of proximal humerus in elderly patients.

Methods: From January 2012 to December 2017, 12 elderly patients with old proximal humeral fractures were treated with reverse total shoulder arthroplasty. There were 5 males and 7 females with an average age of 70.2 years old (ranged from 63 to 81 years old) and an average course of 12.3 months (ranged from 9 to 18 months). VAS score was used to evaluate the degree of pain relief of shoulder joint, Constant-Murley score was used to evaluate the improvement of shoulder joint function and observe the complications during and after operation.

Results: All the 12 patients were followed up with an average duration of 22.3 months (ranged from 15 to 56 months). At the latest follow-up, the VAS score was 1.9±1.4, and Constant-Murley score was 83.4±8.4. Among them, shoulder joint flexion was (92.5±7.7)°, abduction was (90.4±14.3)°, external rotation was(31.9±10.0)°, and internal rotation was(58.9±13.1)°. There was statistical significance before and after treatment(<0.05). There were 2 cases with glenoid notch. The imaging findings were grade I and grade II respectively. No loosening was found during follow-up. No infection, acromial fracture, prosthesis loosening, axillary nerve injury and other complications occurred.

Conclusions: Reverse total shoulder arthroplasty in treating old proximal humeral fractures in elderly patients can achieve satisfactory results, however, indications and complications should be noted.