Managing Subscapularis in Shoulder arthroplasty

Managing subscapularis forms an integral part of shoulder arthroplasty and the ideal technique for subscapularis release and repair during shoulder arthroplasty is still under debate. The three common techniques are tenotomy, peel and lesser tuberosity osteotomy (LTO). Current literature from clinical studies does not show any difference in the outcome between the 3 techniques. However biomechanical studies favour LTO. Subscapularis sparing approach can be an alternative solution allowing early rehabilitation but needs further clinical studies to assess its longterm benefits. Failure of subscapularis repair in anatomical shoulder replacement can lead to pain, loss of movements, instability and loosening of implants. Treatment options include revision repair, tendon transfer, reconstruction with allograft tendon and revision to reverse shoulder arthroplasty (RSA). Repairing subscapularis in RSA can improve rotations and stability, however it also has adverse biomechanical effects on deltoid. Absence of subscapularis repair is seen to affect stability only in medialised implant designs, while no such effects are seen in lateralised design implants.