Management of TSA and RSA complications: Tips and tricks to avoid them

Anatomic (aTSA) and reverse (rTSA) total shoulder arthroplasties might be associated with a multitude of complications which are associated with catastrophic results, with reduced functional outcomes and a negative impact on the patient quality of life. Although the overall number of shoulder replacements performed each year has increased during the past two decades, the rate of complications has decreased. This might be due to a better understanding of shoulder biomechanics, more advanced implant designs with the wide spread of the reverse total shoulder arthroplasty, and an increased surgeon experience gained during the years with those procedures. The aTSA has a higher complication and revision rate than rTSA; the two most common complications for each of the group are unique to each device (aTSA, rotator cuff failure; rTSA, acromial/scapular fractures); the rate of infection is similar for both procedures.