The Kessel total shoulder arthroplasty. A 13- to 16-year retrospective followup

Between 1982 and 1985, 23 Kessel total shoulder arthroplasties were performed on 22 patients with rheumatoid arthritis. A clinical and radiographic review of the 5-year experience was evaluated in 1988 and published in 1992. Ten years later a followup study was done. Of the 22 patients, 11 have died and two were seriously ill and could not participate. Of the remaining nine patients, one had revision surgery after 2 years, leaving eight patients with a mean age of 61 years for this followup study. Shoulder function was evaluated subjectively using the Simple Shoulder Test, and pain was evaluated using a visual analog scale. New radiographs were taken. In general, the patients had a low functional level, but they were able to sleep on the surgically treated side and to manage daily hygiene. Five patients were pain free, and the worst recorded pain during the day was 35 mm on the visual analog scale. Two patients had their scapular component cemented at primary surgery. The radiographs showed no radiolucent zones around these components. The six other scapular components had radiolucent zones of 1 to 3 mm. No radiolucent zones were detected around the humeral components.