Reverse total shoulder arthroplasty is a treatment option for patients with symptomatic glenohumeral arthritis and a deficient
rotator cuff. The reported complication rates vary from 0% to 68%. Given this variation, our purposes were to (1) determine
the learning curve for the procedure, (2) identify complications and surgical pitfalls, and (3) compare our results with those
of similar published series. We retrospectively reviewed 20 consecutive patients (mean age, 73 years; range, 45–88 years)
who had reverse total shoulder arthroplasty by one surgeon, tabulating intraoperative and postoperative complications. Minimum
followup was 3 months (average, 9 months; range, 3–21 months). The intraoperative complication rate for the first 10 patients
was higher than that for the second 10 patients. There were 33 complications in 15 patients: 11 patients collectively had
22 intraoperative complications and eight patients collectively had 11 postoperative complications. At radiographic followup,
11 patients had scapular notching and nine patients had heterotopic ossification. Our complication rate was higher than published
rates.
Level of Evidence: Level II, prognostic study. See the Guidelines for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
Each author certifies that he or she has no commercial associations (eg consultancies, stock ownership, equity interest, patent/licensing
arrangements, etc.) that might pose a conflict of interest in connection with the submitted article.
Each author certifies that his or her institution has approved the human protocol for this investigation, that all investigations
were conducted in conformity with ethical principles of research, and that informed consent was obtained.