Total Shoulder Replacement
In anatomic total shoulder replacement, both the ball and the socket are resurfaced with prosthetic implants that recreate the shoulder’s normal geometry. This procedure is most appropriate for patients with an intact, functioning rotator cuff, and it is highly effective at relieving pain and restoring motion. Implant design has evolved considerably, and in patients with good bone quality the humeral component can often be shorter or stemless, which preserves bone and simplifies any future revision. Dr. Rynecki Baker selects implants and technique based on each patient’s individual anatomy to optimize longevity and function.
Reverse Total Shoulder Replacement
In patients with rotator cuff tear arthropathy, or those with significant rotator cuff deficiency alongside shoulder arthritis, a reverse total shoulder replacement is the preferred solution. This implant reverses the normal ball-and-socket geometry of the joint, allowing the deltoid muscle to compensate for the absent rotator cuff and restore reliable overhead function. Reverse replacement is also used when the socket has worn severely or when bone loss makes a standard socket implant unlikely to remain securely fixed. Dr. Rynecki Baker uses this procedure to restore meaningful function even in the most complex patterns of shoulder arthritis.
Hemiarthroplasty
In a hemiarthroplasty, only the ball is replaced, and the socket is left alone. Its role today is narrower than it once was. For typical osteoarthritis with a worn socket, a total shoulder replacement relieves pain more reliably, because a resurfaced ball articulating against arthritic cartilage often remains uncomfortable, and over time the implant can wear the socket further. It remains the right choice in specific situations: avascular necrosis in which the humeral head has collapsed but the socket cartilage is preserved, certain fractures and post-traumatic cases, and younger patients in whom the expected lifespan of a socket component is a genuine concern or in whom the socket bone will not support one securely. In those patients it preserves bone and leaves the reconstructive options open for the future.
Revision and Conversion to Reverse Replacement
Some patients come to Dr. Rynecki Baker with a shoulder replacement that is no longer working, whether because the rotator cuff has failed around an anatomic implant, the socket component has loosened, or bone loss has developed over time. Converting an anatomic replacement to a reverse replacement addresses these problems and can restore function to a shoulder that had become painful and unreliable. These are complex operations that depend heavily on preoperative planning and on managing bone loss, and Dr. Rynecki Baker plans them with dedicated imaging and a clear discussion of what the revision can and cannot restore.
Arthroscopic Treatment for Younger Patients
For younger patients with early arthritis who are not yet candidates for replacement, arthroscopic surgery can relieve symptoms and delay a replacement. Through small incisions, loose fragments and inflamed tissue are removed, bone spurs at the bottom of the humeral head are addressed, and the tight capsule is released to restore motion. This does not cure arthritis, and Dr. Rynecki Baker is direct about that, but in appropriately selected patients it can provide years of improved comfort and function.
