Arthroplasty for the proximal humerus problems secondary to fractures is troublesome, because of necrosis of the tubercles and the resulting insufficiency of the rotator cuff. The aim of this study was to investigate whether better results can be achieved with the differential use of anatomic and reverse shoulder prostheses, in comparison to the preoperative status.
Fifty-five patients with secondary fracture prostheses due to sequelae of fractures of the humeral head were followed. Anatomic prostheses were implanted in 36 cases (fracture sequelae types 1 and 2 according to Boileau), and reversed prostheses were implanted in 19 cases (fracture sequelae types 3 and 4).
The mean scores of the patients improved from 19 to 68 points (anatomic prosthesis) for fracture sequelae types 1 and 2, and from 9 to 47.5 points (reverse prosthesis) for fracture sequelae types 3 and 4.
The differential use of anatomic and reversed shoulder prostheses in secondary fracture treatment leads to an improvement in postoperative results. In fracture sequelae types 1 and 2, the anatomic prosthesis is a better choice. However, in fracture sequelae types 3 and 4 with severe deformities, the reversed prosthesis is clearly superior to the anatomic prosthesis.