Shoulder Replacement

Painful shoulder arthritis happens due to thewear andtear of otherwise normally smooth cartilage surfaces of the shoulder.These cartilages enable the shoulder ball and socket to smoothly glide against each another. With cartilage no more therea “bone on bone” condition take place which can be quite painful. Thus, a new surface needs to be created to restorethe old comfort.

• Procedure

Arthroplasty or Shoulder replacement is a surgical procedure through which the damaged humerus bone (ball) is replaced.The damaged humerus bone is replaced with a metal implantwhereas the socket portion of the joint isreplaced with a plastic socket cemented into the shoulder blade. In case if one of thetwo bones need to be replaced the surgery is called a partial shoulder replacementor a hemi-arthroplasty and when both bones are replaced it is called total shoulder replacement.

Hospital Stay and Expenses

A shoulder replacement surgery lasts for3-4 hours, after which you will be kept under observation. Once conscious and alert you will be shifted to a normal room with a hospital stay of 2-3 days.A brace will secure your shoulder in place to control movement but then after a day or twoa physiotherapist will help you to move your new shoulder to avoid stiffness. He will give you an exercise regimen which you would need to follow for a faster recovery. The cost of a shoulder replacement surgery ranges from 6500 USD to 7000 USD in India whereas the same surgery costs 13000 USD to 20000 USD in USA.