Conjoint tendon release for persistent anterior shoulder pain following reverse total shoulder arthroplasty

Persistent anterior shoulder pain is an under-reported complication after reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (RTSA). The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of open conjoint tendon release in patients with anterior shoulder pain due to conjoint tendinitis after RTSA.

Open conjoint tendon release was performed by the senior author from June 2014 to November 2018 in patients with persistent anterior shoulder pain after RTSA. Patients were evaluated preoperatively and at a minimum of 1 year postoperatively by phone interview with patient-reported outcome scores including a visual analog scale score for pain and the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons score.

We evaluated 11 of 12 patients (92% follow-up) at a minimum of 1 year (average, 27 ± 11 months) after conjoint tendon release. American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons and visual analog scale pain scores improved from 29.0 ± 22.1 and 7.3 ± 2.0, respectively, preoperatively to 58.2 ± 30.6 and 3.1 ± 3.5, respectively, postoperatively, after open conjoint tendon release (P = .02 and P = .003, respectively). Of the patients, 45% (5 of 11) reported improvement but with some coracoid pain after the release whereas 55% (6 of 11) reported no coracoid pain after the release. No complications occurred as a result of the release, and no patients required reoperation.

Our results suggest that conjoint tendinitis may be a cause of persistent postoperative anterior shoulder pain after RTSA and open conjoint tendon release is a successful treatment.