Short Stem Shoulder Replacement
On the humeral side, shoulder replacement designs have altered dramatically during the last ten years. The humeral implant is maintained in place by a "stem" that runs down the centre of the humerus in a typical shoulder replacement design (arm bone). Since the 1950s, when the first shoulder replacements were launched, this design has proven to be quite effective. There's been a lot of attention recently in designing implants with a shorter stem or no stem at all.
Short stem and stemless designs are frequently touted as being less intrusive, taking less surgical time, resulting in less pain, and resulting in less blood loss. All of these claims are appealing, but there aren't many genuine benefits to smaller stem shapes. The only true benefit of these implants is that they are considerably easier to remove in the event that a revision is required in the future.
A long stem implant can be difficult to remove and generally necessitates an osteotomy, which involves splitting the bone open to pull the stem out. If a revision is needed in the future, the implant can be removed with significantly less trauma if it has a short stem or is stemless.
