The general concepts of replacement surgery of any major joint, whether that be the hip or the knee or in this case the shoulder, are largely the same. So the joint has become worn out through a variety of processes, the cartilage has been damaged beyond repair, and you need to replace the joint in order to remove the patient's pain and restore their function. 

The most common reasons I see patients to consider shoulder replacement surgery-- the single most common is osteoarthritis of the joint, which is a wear and tear process leading to eventual cartilage breakdown. We also see patients who come in with more inflammatory-based arthritis of the joint. And then the final problem that we see most commonly is related to trauma, whether it be soft tissue-based trauma, like rotator cuff disease, or trauma to the bones around the shoulder, or either the socket, which is called the glenoid, or the proximal part of the humerus bone. 

I have many patients who get back to a high level of activity after shoulder replacements, and these activities would include golf, tennis, swimming, working out in the gym, hunting, fishing, other outdoor-type sports. I think we cover the spectrum in our orthopedic department as far as caring for any problem that any patient will have, and we're the common referral destination for patients with more challenging problems across our state. 

[MUSIC PLAYING]