Patient Clinical Outcome after Reverse Shoulder Replacement: Implementing the Oxford Shoulder Score as a...

The aim of this study was to assess and calculate the number of follow-ups (FUs), relative cost, demographics, and overall patient satisfaction (as expressed in pain and function) after shoulder replacement surgery. Subjects included 54 patients (34 female, 20 male) who underwent reverse shoulder arthroplasty between 2011 and 2013 at East Surrey Hospital, United Kingdom. Patients were examined during a period of 3 yr and then 6-12 mo after final discharge. The mean FU period was 2 mo for 11 patients (4-13 mo for nine patients). Thirty-one patients were discharged after completing three FUs, seven needed more than three, and nine needed less than three. Two patients needed revision, and five did not come for review. After discharge, patients were assessed with the Oxford Shoulder Score (OSS), which showed that the majority of the 44 patients out of the 54 who answered (ten did not respond) were doing fine (42), and only two were unhappy. The frequent evaluation of postoperative patients provided the surgical team with the feedback necessary to study the clinical outcomes in relation to the above-mentioned procedure. The use of the OSS as an FU tool was easy and successful and illustrated that it has potential to reduce the number of FUs in the near future.