The answer in the majority of patients is yes.
We’re doing more and more reverses in patients who have intact rotator cuffs. We detach part of the rotator cuff, the subscapularis, and then reattach it for surgery. The less of the cuff, the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, and teres minor, we leave, and we don’t mess with it.
If all those tendons or some are torn, and we’re doing a reverse shoulder replacement because you have a massive rotator cuff tear, we don’t reattach them. That’s why we’re doing the surgery because the muscles are gone.
You need to replace the whole joint to make up for the fact that those tendons will never be able to be successfully reattached and healed. So if they’re intact, you leave them alone. If they’re torn, we leave them alone.
In reversal replacement, we don’t mess with the rotator cuff other than the subscapularis muscle. We have to remove and reattach it in the operation to do the procedure.
Advanced techniques and exceptional results. Schedule a shoulder replacement consultation with Dr. Kruse at (469) 717-4674.