Partial Shoulder Replacement

Partial shoulder replacement, also called shoulder resurfacing is a more conservative to traditional total shoulder replacement surgery.

The most common form of shoulder resurfacing addresses the diseased areas of the glenoid or shoulder socket and is referred to as a non-prosthetic glenoid arthroplasty. The humeral head is replaced, as in a total shoulder replacement, but the socket is refinished and smoothed into a shape that matches the humeral ball.

Alternatively, shoulder resurfacing can also involve only the humeral head. In this scenario, the glenoid socket is replaced with a prosthetic, but the humeral head is resurfaced and smoothed.

Finally, a combination of these procedures can be implemented. This is called total shoulder resurfacing. In general, shoulder resurfacing is a less-invasive surgery than total shoulder replacement and can provide very active patients with a high-degree of function following surgery.