Reverse Total Shoulder Arthroplasty in Patients With Parkinson Disease: A Case Series and Review of the Literature
John Dunn, BA, Abigail N. Byrne, BA, and Laurence D. Higgins, MD
Parkinson disease (PD) is a chronic degenerative neurologic disorder with both motor and nonmotor facets. The motor symptoms, including increased risk for falls, fractures, and stiffness, contribute to the morbidity of arthroplasty. In this article, we report 3 cases of reverse total shoulder arthroplasty in patients with PD. All patients achieved poor functional outcomes with mean (range) active forward flexion of 40° (20°-60°) at follow-up. Although each patient obtained significant pain relief—mean (range) visual analog scale score was less than 1 (0-2)—range of motion was poor. In addition, each patient developed significant glenoid notching, though no component loosening or migration was observed. Mean (range) postoperative follow-up was 17 (4-32) months. A patient who has PD and requires an inverse arthroplasty should be counseled that pain relief may be reliably achieved, while functional outcomes are poor.