Gleno-Humeral arthritis in young patients: clinical and radiographic analysis of humerus resurfacing prosthesis and meniscus interposition Nicola Lollino • Andrea Pellegrini • Paolo Paladini • Fabrizio Campi • Giuseppe Porcellini Published online: 12 April 2011 Ó Springer-Verlag 2011 Abstract Recently, interest about glenoid resurfacing with lateral meniscus in osteoarthritis of the shoulder has been increasing. Aim of this study is to evaluate the results of this procedure, from a clinical and a radiographic point of view. Constant score, DASH (Disability of the Arm, Shoulder, and Elbow) questionnaire, some specific ques- tions about satisfaction after surgery, and radiographic exams were performed pre-operatively and post-opera- tively, at a minimum follow-up of 2 years. Constant score improved from 49.8 to 66.2. 84.4% of the patients were satisfied. Mean Dash was about 24.2 points. Gleno-Hum- eral measurement on X-Ray shows a good widening of the articular space after surgery (5.92 mm), but a narrowing (2.07 mm), at 2 years of follow-up. We have suspended glenoid resurfacing because narrowing of the articular space at follow-up can be related to meniscal resorption and clinical results are good but comparable with humeral resurfacing alone, as seen in the literature. Long-term follow-up studies are needed. Keywords Shoulder Á Resurfacing Á Meniscus Á Arthritis Á Glenoid Introduction Surgical management of shoulder osteoarthritis in young patients is a matter of discussion. Total shoulder arthroplasty is not universally considered to be the best choice, because of the high risk of glenoid loosening that can reduce the long-term survival of the implants [1]. Revision arthroplasty for glenoid loosening can be a demanding operation because of bone-stock deficiency [2]. Other choices are glenohumeral fusion [3], an option that can be reserved for patients with low functional requests and hemiarthroplasty; however, recent literature has demonstrated inferior results of this procedure as compared with total shoulder replacement [4, 5]. These problems have arised the necessity of a new solution for this particular pathology, and several studies have demonstrated the results of biologic resurfacing of the glenoid, in conjunction with a porous-coated humeral head replacement [6, 7]. Lateral meniscus allograft was introduced by Wirth and Yamaguchi [8, 9] and has been frequently used at this purpose, because of its histopathological and anatomical features. To our knowledge, few studies have been performed to evaluate glenoid resurfacing with lateral meniscus from a clinical and a radiographic point of view, at long follow-up. No studies have been performed to evaluate patients’ quality of life after this kind of surgery. Aim of this study is to perform a clinical and radio- graphic examination at 2 years of follow-up and to evalu- ate satisfaction of the patients by assessing the functional status in everyday activities. Materials and method Between 2006 and 2008, 18 young patients with shoulder osteoarthritis underwent hemiarthroplasty with a stemmed implant (6 patients—Anatomic Prosthesis Zimmer) or N. Lollino (&) ‘‘E. Agnelli’’ Hospital, Via Brigata Cagliari 39, 10064 Pinerolo (To), Italy e-mail: n.lollino@libero.it A. Pellegrini Á P. Paladini Á F. Campi Á G. Porcellini ‘‘Cervesi’’ Hospital, Cattolica (Rn), Italy 123 Musculoskelet Surg (2011) 95 (Suppl 1):S59–S63 DOI 10.1007/s12306-011-0122-y