The Management of Glenohumeral Osteoarthritis in the Young, Active Patient

Glenohumeral osteoarthritis (GHOA) is a debilitating condition with quantified impairments in health-related quality of life, psychological distress, and inability to perform occupational duties. This impact is accentuated in the young, active population with post-traumatic, infectious, and instability-related etiologies in addition to avascular necrosis representing common etiologies. The literature defines “young” as an age of 50 to 55 years with known differences in physiologic and chronologic age. The foundational tenets of clinical management of GHOA in this cohort is bone preservation and lifestyle optimization with evidence to support a revision rate of approximately 20% to 30% regardless of the hemiarthroplasty or total arthroplasty system used at 10 to 12 years postoperative. In achieving this goal, patients may avoid multiple revision procedures and poor clinical outcomes. The aim of this review was to summarize the current evidence on novel and established surgical techniques to thoughtfully intervene in the case of GHOA in the young active patient.