Total Shoulder Replacement

Granddaughter on her grandfather's shoulders while laughing and looking down at her grandmother.

Why choose Ochsner for shoulder replacement surgery?

Whether you have limited range of motion in your shoulder, or ongoing shoulder pain is preventing you from picking up your grandchildren or a golf club, the highly trained collaborative team at Ochsner Health can help restore your quality of life and get you back to doing the things you love.

Total shoulder replacement, or shoulder arthroplasty, is a proven successful surgery that reduces pain and restores motion, strength and function in the shoulder. Our fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeons perform more than 600 shoulder replacements annually. More than 200,000 of these surgeries are performed nationally each year.

Our shoulder care team includes orthopedic surgeons who specialize in shoulder and upper extremity procedures, physician assistants, sports medicine assistants and orthopedic specialty certified physical therapists. They are experts in both surgical and nonsurgical treatments.

Persistent, or chronic, shoulder pain is the most common condition we treat. We also treat:

Serious shoulder injuries, like a broken bone or fracture
Severe arthritis in the shoulder

Our goal is to decrease your shoulder pain and increase your range of motion and strength. That does not always mean surgery.

Your care team will work with you to decide whether conservative, nonsurgical treatments — such as physical therapy, anti-inflammatory medication or corticosteroid injections — can help alleviate your pain.

If you and your care team decide surgery is the best option for you, our fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeons use the latest surgical techniques, including minimally invasive surgeries. After surgery, a specialty care team will support your recovery.

Your orthopedic surgeon may recommend one of the following types of shoulder replacements:

Anatomic total shoulder replacement: This procedure replaces the joint surfaces with an artificial ball and socket.
Reverse total shoulder replacement: In this procedure, both the ball and the socket are replaced but the implants are switched. This is generally for patients who have completely torn rotator cuffs or severe arthritis.
Partial shoulder replacement. In this procedure, only the ball portion of the joint is replaced.

In nearly 80% of cases, elective shoulder replacement surgery is an outpatient procedure, and most patients can go home the same day.

Our shoulder arthroplasty surgeons perform more than 600 shoulder replacements annually. They are happy to offer their expertise in both complex and routine cases that may require a second opinion.

Multiple study groups are currently analyzing all aspects of arthroplasty, from implant design to virtual component trialing, to improve outcomes.

FAQs

Total shoulder replacement surgery, also known as total shoulder arthroplasty, replaces parts of the shoulder joint with artificial joints. It is a highly successful procedure that reduces pain and restores mobility in patients with end-stage shoulder arthritis, irreparable rotator cuff tears and, in some cases, after a severe shoulder fracture. Shoulder replacement surgery relieves pain and helps restore motion, strength and function of the shoulder.

A total shoulder replacement is recommended if you have limited range of motion due to arthritis or a complicated proximal humerus fracture, which is a complicated fracture of the top of the arm right below the ball joint.

An orthopedic surgeon can determine whether you are a candidate for shoulder replacement surgery. Things they will take into consideration when making a recommendation would be your pain, symptoms, medical history and your response to conservative treatment.