Too old for a ream and run?

A very active and motivated 81 year old man presented with disabling pain in his left shoulder and these x-rays

After discussion of pros and cons of ream and run vs total shoulder, he elected the former.

Here are his films at 6 wks.

Today he returned for routine followup at 4 years after his procedure. He states that he has unlimited function of his left shoulder and no discomfort. He is able to perform all 12 of the Simple Shoulder Test functions. His current x-rays are shown below.

Two observations are of interest. First, age does not seem to be a barrier to obtaining a good result from a ream and run and second, it is of interest to see the progressive maturation of the reamed glenoid surface between the 6 wk and 4 year films.

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