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Many people go through shoulder pain or impairment at some point of their lives because we do absolutely everything with our hands and arms. But people mostly deal with discomfort somehow and surgery is never something that they prefer to opt for. The most common shoulder problems differ with age. In teens or in the 20s its loose shoulder, tendonitis is mostly during the 30s or 40s and rotator cuff issues as the age progresses in the 50s, shoulder arthritis is during the 50s to 60s. So, the average age of those considering shoulder replacement surgery is the early 60s. As far as the success rate of shoulder surgeries go, it is almost 90% when it comes to regaining function or for pain relief. The complexity is when rotator cuff issues are combined with arthritis.

Among the popular advances in shoulder surgery there is no doubt Arthroscopy. Most shoulder surgeries can be done arthroscopically, except for shoulder replacements. The top common shoulder surgeries performed today include Rotator cuff repair both open and Arthroscopic, Total shoulder replacement, Arthroscopy for frozen shoulder, Labral tear Surgery, Acromioclavicular joint repair for arthritis. Shoulder surgery is an area where many new techniques are being implemented all over. Some advances are in trial stage whereas others have proven their efficacy.

Let’s look at some of the latest advances in shoulder surgery;

• The use of arthroscopic polymer resurfacing is slowly gaining prominence in arthroscopic joint replacements.
• A novel surgical technique that makes use of an inset glenoid socket implant to minimize complications and improve fixation in shoulder replacement surgery has surfaced. This method is said to greatly reduce the need for revision surgery and was found to be well suited for patients with glenoid bone loss and arthritis.
• A partial shoulder replacement technique called Hemiarthroplasty that doesn’t use a plastic socket and only the humerus ball is replaced is especially beneficial for those with severe shoulder arthritis.
• Another new approach in joint replacement is the partial replacement technique with tissue regeneration technology. This is used in joint surgeries when the patients require bone grafts.
• Tendon and muscle tissue engineering is already being used for cartilage surgery and very soon this will make way into arthroscopy as well and other advances in the arthroscope technology with micro-electronics, has led to the development of size 18-gauge needle arthroscopes.
• A futuristic method combines various technologies to carry out joint replacement with just a single needle thereby doing away with a surgical scar. In this sci-fi like method nanobots are injected into the shoulder joint. Nanobots are carbon-based robots less than 100 nanometres in size, invisible to the human eye. These nanobots manipulate the molecules of injected ethylene monomer, placing them into the damaged regions of the joint. The freshly applied monomer is then irradiated by a tiny gamma emitter embedded within the nanobot. This begins free radical polymerization, joining the monomers together to form high-density polyethylene. The damaged articular surface is now “patched” with a nonreactive biocompatible compound that is strong and flexible. The nanobots, having completed their task, are then eliminated by the body’s lymph system within several days. Nanobots and nanotubes to transport the nanobots have already been created by nanotechnologists so this could soon be a reality.

For enquiries and online appointments, send a message to www.BangaloreShoulderInstitute.com/contact