Inside the OR: Reverse total shoulder replacement surgery video

In this video, we feature a 62-year-old male patient with end-stage shoulder arthritis and a rotator cuff tear. Come inside the operating room with orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Jacob Triplet as he performs reverse total shoulder replacement surgery.

There are two types of total shoulder replacements, anatomic total shoulder replacement and reverse total shoulder replacement. "With an anatomic replacement, the anatomy [of the ball and socket] ends up looking just like the normal anatomy," says Dr. Jacob Triplet. "For this to be an option the rotator cuffs have to be functioning properly. If those are not working, as in this case, then [with the reverse total shoulder replacement] we switch the ball and the socket orientation. What used to be the ball will now become the plastic socket and what used to be the socket will now be a metal ball. This ultimately functions by relying on the big muscle on the outside of the shoulder called the deltoid muscle, and that accommodates any type of rotator cuff deficiency."