Glenoid bone grafting in primary reverse total shoulder arthroplasty: a systematic review

Reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (RSA) with glenoid bone grafting has become a common option for management of glenoid bone loss associated with glenohumeral osteoarthritis. The objectives of this review were to determine (1) the rate of graft union, (2) the revision and complication rates, and (3) functional outcomes following primary RSA with glenoid bone grafting.

A comprehensive search of the MEDLINE, Embase, and CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature) databases was completed for studies reporting clinical outcomes following primary RSA with glenoid bone grafting. Pooled and frequency-weighted means were calculated where applicable.

Overall, 11 studies and 393 patients were included in the study. The mean patient age was 73 ± 2.2 years, and the mean follow-up period was 34 ± 10 months. The overall graft union rate was 95%, but the rate was 97% among cases using autograft bone (8 studies, n = 254). When stratified by technique, concentric bone grafts had a 100% union rate (4 studies, n = 139). Conversely, eccentric grafts had an overall union rate of 92% (7 studies, n = 240), which improved to 94% when using autograft bone (4 studies, n = 115). At final follow-up, the revision rate was 2%, the complication rate was 18%, and there was consistent improvement in range of motion and functional outcome scores.

Glenoid bone grafting during primary RSA results in excellent early-term clinical outcomes, low complication and revision rates, and high rates of graft union.