Does Prior Shoulder Surgery Negatively Impact Shoulder Arthroplasty Outcomes?

OBJECTIVES: Several studies have shown a negative correlation between prior knee arthroscopy and ultimate knee arthroplasty outcomes compared to patients without prior arthroscopy. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of prior shoulder surgery on patients undergoing total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA) and reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (rTSA) compared to patients without prior shoulder surgery. METHODS: A retrospective review of prospectively collected data was performed on 107 patients undergoing TSA or rTSA. All medical records were analyzed for demographic variables, type of prior shoulder surgery, and type of arthroplasty. All patients underwent a clinical follow-up evaluation, and were evaluated with the American Shoulder and Elbow Society (ASES), Simple Shoulder Test (SST), and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) outcomes scores. Complications, failures, and reoperations were also recorded an analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 107 patients (47 males, 60 females) were included with an average follow-up of 24 months (minimum 12 months). Seventy-one patients (underwent arthroplasty without prior surgery (30 rTSA, 41 TSA) while 50 patients underwent arthroplasty with a history of at least one prior shoulder surgery (27 rTSA, 9 TSA). Prior surgeries included a mix of both open and arthroscopic procedures, including open and arthroscopic rotator cuff repair, open and arthroscopic stabilization (with and without bone augmentation), arthroscopic capsular release, and arthroscopic debridement. Following arthroplasty, both groups experienced significant improvements in ASES, SST, and VAS scores compared to preoperative scores (P<0.05 for all). There was a statistically significant difference in postoperative ASES scores in the no-surgery group compared to the prior-surgery group (84.49 versus 71.67, P=0.0003) as well as in the SST scores (8.97 versus 5.47, P<0.0001); there were no differences in the VAS score (0.83 vs 1.40, P=0.104). CONCLUSION: Shoulder arthroplasty after undergoing prior shoulder surgery results in overall clinically improved outcomes, however these results are inferior compared to patients without a history of prior shoulder surgery. Further research examining this correlation is needed.