Advanced shoulder and elbow care.

Shoulder replacement can relieve advanced pain and restore useful function when arthritis, rotator cuff failure, fracture, osteonecrosis, or prior surgery has permanently damaged the joint.

Pain after shoulder replacement is a symptom, not a diagnosis.

Severe glenoid deformity or bone loss can fundamentally change how a shoulder is reconstructed. It may occur with advanced arthritis, recurrent instability, a failed shoulder replacement, fracture, or previous surgery. Successful treatment begins with understanding why bone has been lost, how much usable bone remains, and which reconstruction will best restore stability, fixation, and function.

Reverse shoulder replacement is designed for shoulders that cannot reliably function with a traditional anatomic replacement.

Anatomic total shoulder replacement replaces the damaged ball-and-socket surfaces while preserving the shoulder's natural orientation.

Shoulder arthritis develops when the smooth cartilage covering the ball-and-socket joint becomes damaged or wears away.

Shoulder osteonecrosis, also called avascular necrosis, occurs when the blood supply to part of the humeral head is disrupted.

A rotator cuff tear involves one or more tendons that help lift, rotate, and stabilize the shoulder.

A massive rotator cuff tear and an irreparable tear are not the same.

Persistent symptoms after rotator cuff surgery do not always mean the tendon has failed, and an abnormal MRI does not automatically mean another operation is needed.

The long head of the biceps tendon travels through the shoulder joint and is vulnerable to inflammation, degeneration, partial tearing, and complete rupture.

Rotator cuff tendinitis, tendinopathy, and subacromial bursitis describe pain arising from the rotator cuff tendons and the bursa that helps them glide.

Shoulder instability occurs when the humeral head slips partly or completely out of the socket.

Recurrent instability after shoulder surgery requires a new diagnosis, not automatic repetition of the original procedure.

A SLAP tear affects the upper portion of the shoulder labrum near the attachment of the long head of the biceps tendon.

Frozen shoulder, or adhesive capsulitis, causes progressive pain and loss of both active and passive shoulder motion.

A proximal humerus fracture is a break near the shoulder joint.

A clavicle fracture is a break in the collarbone, commonly caused by a fall directly onto the shoulder, cycling accident, collision, or contact-sports injury.

An AC joint separation is an injury to the ligaments connecting the clavicle to the acromion and coracoid.

A distal biceps tendon rupture occurs when the biceps tendon tears from its attachment at the elbow.

A distal triceps tendon rupture is an uncommon injury in which the tendon that straightens the elbow tears from the olecranon.

The ulnar collateral ligament, or UCL, is the primary stabilizer on the inner side of the elbow during overhead throwing.

Tennis elbow, or lateral epicondylitis, is degenerative tendon pain at the outside of the elbow.

Golfer's elbow, or medial epicondylitis, is degenerative tendon pain where the wrist-flexor and forearm-pronator muscles attach to the inner elbow.

Elbow fractures can involve the distal humerus, radial head or neck, coronoid, olecranon, or several structures at once.

Elbow stability depends on the precise shape of the bones, the lateral and medial collateral ligaments, and the muscles that cross the joint.

Elbow arthritis and elbow stiffness often occur together, but they are not the same problem.

Total elbow replacement replaces the damaged surfaces of the humerus and ulna with linked or unlinked implant components.

Cubital tunnel syndrome occurs when the ulnar nerve is compressed or irritated at the elbow.

Independent review of imaging, prior operations, and high-stakes decisions when diagnosis or treatment remains uncertain.