Stemless implants have been described as a promising alternative to stemmed designs because they show similar results in the literature, with high rates of satisfaction and low rates of complications. Their potential advantages are bone stock preservation, reduction of periprosthetic fractures and stem related complications, shorter surgeries with lower blood losses and simpler revision surgeries. In stemmed designs the benefit of repairing the subscapularis muscle is controversial, in stemless designs, to the best of our knowledge, there’s no study evaluating this issue, so we sought out to find the differences between both approaches.

 

In this retrospective cohort study, 60 patients submitted to stemless reverse shoulder arthroplasty between May 2019 and March 2023 were included. The minimum follow-up time was 12 months. The outcomes measured comprised of range of motion, Constant-Murley Score, American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons score, Subjective Shoulder Value, Visual Analogue Scale, instability, patient satisfaction, radiological and surgical complications.

 

There was no statistically significant difference in range of motion, scores measured, instability, satisfaction or radiologic complications between repair and non-repair group.

 

At this short-term follow-up, the subscapularis repair did not show any functional, satisfaction or radiological benefit compared to non-repair.

 

Stemless Shoulder Arthroplasty; Shoulder Arthroplasty; Stemless Prothesis; Reverse Shoulder Arthroplasty; Subscapularis; Subscapularis Repair; Range of Motion