A 61-Year-old man unable to do his daily chores for the last 2 years due to shoulder stiffness and pain in left the shoulder gets a second lease of life

by Suman Gupta

~ The patient had shoulder arthritis and a tear on his tendon, stemless shoulder replacement, and tendon the repair was done to help him get back on track~

~Dr. Chintan Desai is the first one to use stemless shoulder replacement in Mumbai for treating patients with shoulder arthritis~

~A patient was misdiagnosed as frozen shoulder advised for physiotherapy which worsen his condition~

Mumbai: 61-Year-old resident of Mumbai, who was having shoulder arthritis with tendon tear, was successfully performed first of its kind stemless implant shoulder replacement surgery in Mumbai by Dr. Chintan Desai, at Wockhardt Hospital, Mumbai Central. The surgery was successfully performed without any complications.  The patient is fine now and is able to do his real-world activities.

Pravin Sharma (Name changed), who is a resident of Mumbai, was suffering from shoulder pain, stiffness, and found it difficult to carry out his daily activities like wearing clothes, combing hair, and even bathing, since 2017. On consulting local doctors, the patient’s case was misdiagnosed as a frozen shoulder and was advised to take physiotherapy (he took it for a year), which worsened his pain. In 2019, in the month of June, the patient visited Dr. Chintan Desai and his life changed for the better. On carrying out further investigation, the x-ray of the patient’s shoulder revealed that he was suffering from shoulder arthritis with tendon tear. Shoulder arthritis can be termed as damage to the cartilage inside the shoulder joint and results from gradual wear and tear of the cartilage. Due to the physiotherapy exercises, the patient developed a tear on his tendon, and fortunately, the tear wasn’t large. Hence, the patient underwent Stemless Shoulder replacement and tendon repair.

Dr. Chintan Desai, shoulder surgeon from the Wockhardt hospital, Mumbai Central, said, “Mr. Pravin was not able to perform his daily activities due to stiffness and pain, The technology in shoulder replacement surgery has been evolving, and now the latest in shoulder replacement is called Stemless Shoulder replacement which is being used to help patients deal with shoulder arthritis. Till now, I have performed it on around 8 patients. It is a type of anatomical shoulder replacement wherein more native bone can be preserved. The Stemless Shoulder is a more bone preserving surgery. Only the arthritic part of the shoulder ball and socket are replaced. The risk of post-operative impingement and damage to the rotator cuff muscles and tendons is reduced. The advantages of this procedure are that there are less bone cut and pain, it enhances the functioning of the shoulder.”

He added, “But, one should also keep in mind that patient selection plays a vital role in Stemless Shoulder replacement. This is so because the implant cannot go with each and every patient, and has to be done after carefully examining the patient. The surgeon will have to choose the right candidate for Stemless Shoulder replacement very carefully. Here, when the patient was fit to go for it and after the procedure, he was discharged on the third day. The patient is able to move his shoulder with ease now. I advise elderly people with shoulder pain, stiffness, and restricted motion, to immediately take an x-ray to rule out the possibility of shoulder arthritis.”

Patient Pravin Sharma Said, “My life was miserable for the last two years. Due to my shoulder pain, I could not do anything by myself. I was dependent on my family to help me wear clothes, eat or even hold things properly. I tried all possible physiotherapy treatments and medications. The pain worsened was unbearable. But tables turned in 2019, when I visited Dr. Chintan Desai, in the month of June. The doctor confirmed that I suffered from shoulder arthritis, and treated me aptly. Now, after undergoing Stemless Shoulder replacement, there is a normal shoulder range of motion, and I am independent again. I want to thank Dr. Chintan Desai for helping me to live my life the way I want to. After the surgery, I am now able to perform my daily chores independently without any support.”