Shoulder Spica Cast as a Salvage Technique for Instability After Reverse Shoulder Arthroplasty: A Report of 3 Cases

Three patients (71-year-old woman with cuff tear arthropathy; 40-year-old man with failed hemiarthroplasty; 92-year-old woman with cuff tear arthropathy) underwent reverse shoulder arthroplasty and developed early recurrent instability. Imaging confirmed repeated dislocations with contributing factors including soft-tissue insufficiency, prior surgery, postoperative fracture, periprosthetic infection, and noncompliance with immobilization due to delirium. Despite closed reduction and multiple revision procedures, instability persisted. All patients underwent shoulder spica cast immobilization, resulting in maintained reduction and improved clinical outcomes (1 patient lost to follow-up).

Shoulder spica casting may serve as an effective salvage strategy for managing refractory instability after shoulder arthroplasty.