The New Parts...PO Day 150

If you watch a lot of television, like I do, you probably know one way the detectives identify "the body" is by serial numbers on some body part implant. Well, as far as I can tell, there are no serial numbers on artificial joint implants. It would seem that there would be but I can't find any evidence on the web.

There have been some "recalls" by joint manufacturers. The couple I found were not for the joint parts themselves but rather for one of the very specialized instruments used in fitting or assembling the parts at the time of surgery. It would be very upsetting to have an implanted part of your artificial shoulder recalled if you were doing fine! Could you be required to have surgery to remove it? I wouldn't think so.

There are reasons that a re- operation is necessary but they do involve problems with the existing shoulder. Instability or dislocation are two main reasons a patient may be looking at repeat surgery. While these situations are not common early on, instability  due to wearing of the liner of the glenosphere is one reason the surgery is said to "last", depending on who is talking, seven to ten to twenty years. RTSA patients who use their new shoulder in more physically demanding ways, in sports or physical labor, face this problem earlier. Chronic, recalcitrant infection, when it simply will not respond to antibiotic treatment, can necessitate surgery.

Rarer is base plate failure. In fact, it might be a problem that has been resolved with design changes as it is seldom mentioned in current literature. I hope so. But, having just said that, I found an article that says it is the biggest post operative complication. I can't tell when the article was written, this is the problem with web research. Let's hope it has been resolved. Periprosthetic fracture of the humerus and acromiom fractures can occur but do not require surgery as far as I can tell.

I am counting on none of these really bad things happening. I suppose there is no avoiding the relentless march  of time and the normal wear and tear of life. I expect ten years and hope for twenty. Dr. Kai is young, I hope he will still be around when I need him.

http://youtu.be/qy1A5KQhq28


Archive timeline: 2014: May and June - preparing for surgery, July - surgery and post op problems, August - recovery and physical therapy, September - thinking medically, October--