Work Injury Requiring Shoulder Surgery – Outcomes of Reverse Shoulder Replacement Surgery

Work Injury Requiring Shoulder Surgery – What are the Outcomes of Reverse Shoulder Replacement Surgery in Patients With Workers’ Compensation Claims?

Workplace injuries are fairly in the United States and upper extremity injuries account for the majority of workers’ compensation claims. There has been some information reported on the results after shoulder surgery in patients with workers’ compensation claims, but until recently there were no research studies published about the results of patients with workers’ compensation claims following reverse shoulder replacement. Dr. Morris and his colleagues published the first ever report on workers’ compensation claims and outcomes after reverse shoulder replacement. The data was published in the internationally regarded Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery, and the results were presented at the Congress of the European Society for Surgery of the Shoulder and the Elbow (SECEC/ESSSE) in Milan, Italy.

Patients with a workers’ compensation claim were evaluated 2 years after reverse shoulder replacement and were compared to a control group of patients 2 years after reverse shoulder replacement without a workers’ compensation claim. Fortunately, both groups showed significant improvements following reverse shoulder replacement. However, the workers’ compensation group had significantly lower outcome scores and satisfaction scores compared to the control group and had a lower rate of return to work following reverse shoulder replacement surgery.

The takeaway from the study was that patients with workers’ compensation claims displayed significant improvements in pain relief, range of motion, and shoulder function scores after reverse shoulder replacement; however, they did not quite achieve the same levels of improvement exhibited in the control group without a workers' compensation claim.

About Dr. Morris:

Dr. Brent J. Morris is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon and fellowship-trained shoulder and elbow specialist in Lexington, Kentucky at Baptist Health Lexington – Orthopedics and Sports Medicine.  Dr. Morris is a fellow of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (FAAOS) and an Active Member of American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES). Dr. Morris and his research team have published extensively on shoulder surgery and ways to improve outcomes and patient satisfaction following surgery.  He is co-author of a textbook devoted to total shoulder, reverse total shoulder replacement surgery, and revision shoulder replacement surgery, Shoulder Arthroplasty, 2^ndEdition (https://www.elsevier.com/books/shoulder-arthroplasty/edwards/978-0-323-53164-1). 

For more information about Dr. Morris, visit online at www.brentmorrismd.com.

Brent J. Morris, MD

Board-Certified Orthopedic Surgeon

Orthopedic Shoulder and Elbow Surgeon

Shoulder Replacement and Revision Shoulder Replacement Specialist

Baptist Health Lexington – Orthopedics and Sports Medicine

Fellow American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (FAAOS)

Active Member American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES)

Citation:

Morris BJ, Haigler RE, Laughlin MS, Elkousy HA, Gartsman GM, Edwards TB. Workers’ Compensation Claims and Outcomes After Reverse Shoulder Arthroplasty. Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery. 2015;24:453-459. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jse.2014.07.009

Brent J. Morris, MD; Richard Haigler, MD; Mitzi S. Laughlin, PhD; Benjamin W. Szerlip, DO; Hussein A. Elkousy, MD; Gary M. Gartsman, MD; Gilles Walch, MD; T. Bradley Edwards, MD. Workers’ Compensation Claims and Outcomes Following Reverse Shoulder Arthroplasty. E poster #355. XXVI Congress of the European Society for Surgery of the Shoulder and the Elbow (SECEC/ESSSE) 2015, September 16-19, Milan, Italy.