Ipsilateral total shoulder and elbow prosthetic replacement in a patient with severe haemophilia B

Since factor replacement concentrates became widely available in the 1970s, total prosthetic replacement of joints in haemophilic patients has become increasingly common, with success particularly in the knee and hip. However, there has been no published series of elbow or shoulder replacements large enough to draw conclusions about the advisability of these procedures in this group of patients. We report a case of prosthetic replacement of the shoulder in a 58-year-old man with haemophilia B, and replacement of the elbow joint of the same limb 21 months later. The results are initially very encouraging, with no pain in either joint since the early post-operative period. There have been no bleeds into either joint since surgery. Ranges of movement are satisfactory. Follow-up is now 37 months for the shoulder and 16 months for the elbow.