Friday, November 20, 2015

Shoulder arthroplasty components and jet fighters


This week in clinic we were visited by an implant representative who was advocating a shoulder implant system that had a large modular ingrowth stem, a metal backed glenoid with a large central peg.


This 'heavy metal' approach is in marked contrast to the lighter, more flexible approach that we use as shown in one of this week's cases



The discussion between heavy and rigid on one hand and light and maneuverable on the other hand reminds us of the discussion between the proponents of the 63 ft long, 29,535 pound empty weight F-4 Phantom 



and the 49 ft long, 18,900 pound empty weight F-16 Fighting Falcon.

For a riveting discussion of the value of the light and maneuverable, every shoulder surgeon must read the book: Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War.  This transformative biography was called to my attention by Seth Leopold, editor of Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research.

Be sure to visit the Ream and Run - the state of the art of this radically conservative approach to shoulder arthritis at this link.
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Check out the new Shoulder Arthritis Book - click here.



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You may be interested in some of our most visited web pages including:shoulder arthritis, total shoulder, ream and runreverse total shoulderCTA arthroplasty, and rotator cuff surgery as well as the 'ream and run essentials'