Survivorship after Arthroscopic Management of Glenohumeral Osteoarthritis with a Minimum 5 year Follow-up

OBJECTIVES: We previously reported clinical improvement and pain relief following arthroscopic management of glenohumeral osteoarthritis (GHOA) at 2 years. The purpose of this study was to determine 5 year survivorship for the comprehensive arthroscopic management (CAM) procedure for the treatment of GHOA. METHODS: This study had prior IRB approval. The CAM procedure was performed on a consecutive series of 42 young patients (44 shoulders) with GHOA who otherwise met criteria for shoulder arthroplasty but instead opted for joint preservation. The procedure included glenohumeral chondroplasty, capsular release, and synovectomy, humeral osteoplasty, axillary nerve neurolysis, subacromial decompression, loose body removal, microfracture and biceps tenodesis. Only patients who were a minimum of 5 years out from surgery were included in the study. Patients completed a subjective questionnaire, and further surgical intervention of the index shoulder was noted for survivorship analysis. Failure was defined as progression to TSA. Kaplan Meier survivorship analysis was performed. RESULTS: Forty-two patients (with 44 shoulders) underwent a CAM procedure between 1/2006-12/2009 and were included. All patients were self-described recreational athletes. Seven patients were former collegiate or professional athletes. Mean follow-up was 5.9 years (range, 5 years to 8.1 years). Mean age at surgery was 52 (range 27- 68) years old in 13 women and 29 men. Eleven shoulders (26%) failed and progressed to TSA at a mean of 2.9 years (1.0-5.4 years). Shoulder status (progression to TSA or not) at minimum 5 years (range 5.3 - 9.4 years) was known for 95% (42/44). One patient progressed to another surgery for stiffness at a mean of 5.6 months and another patient underwent a revision CAM procedure at 7.9 years. From this cohort, Kaplan Meier survivorship was 92% at 1 year, 85.7% at 3 years, and 75.3% survivorship at 5 years. CONCLUSION: The long term durability of arthroscopic management for symptomatic GHOA is not well studied. Glenohumeral debridement and capsular release may not be enough to address all the pain generating pathology in the osteoarthritic shoulder. After the CAM procedure we found an 84% survivorship at 3 years and 72% survivorship at 5 years. Predictors of success were not known in the early years for this patient cohort. We have since found that factors such as joint space > 2 mm, glenoid morphology (A1, A2, B1) and CSA > 30o are associated with better outcomes. The 72% survivorship at 5 years demonstrated in this study can serve as a benchmark. Hopefully, with better patient selection, excluding those with negative predictive factors, outcomes and survivorship after the CAM procedure for GHOA can be improved.